The Hunted
by Novelist's Fantasy
Summary: Magic exists, resting deep in the souls of many children, victims of the nuclear radiation caused by the Giants, a group of scientists. Because of their powers, the government marked them as 'dangerous', and hunted them down with the Giants. For freedom, they have to defeat the Giants. Easier said than done. Written by anajadenx, shadowell, and theKeeperofMemories.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Over a century ago, human experiments began. At first it was petty things like simply observing the human body and its limits, but as technology evolved, so did the experiments. Slowly, the experiments changed from observing the human body, to mixing or transforming DNA, to creating super humans.

The Giants, a group of scientists, specializing secretly in human experimentation, had succeeded in giving humans super powers. They had accomplished the impossible. But it came with a heavy price.

On a day in 1986, one of their experiments had enough of being in the lab. And so she, using her powers, transformed herself into a massive nuclear particle bomb. When she self-destructed, the power that she released scattered throughout the whole world, affecting the weakest type of beings in the human society- infants. Specifically infants that are still in their mother's wombs.

And thus, we were born.

Some of us are Naturals, which means that we were born with our powers; while others were Injected, meaning we got our powers when being experimented on by the Giants. After all, many children had become their lab rats.

At first, we went by unnoticed. But then, as more and more of us appeared, the government began taking notice of us. They called us dangerous, for we were unknown and humans hated the unknown. They always thirsted for knowledge.

And then, some experiments escaped from the Giant's lab, and the hunt began.

Because of the government's curiosity and the Giant's greediness, we were hunted, killed, observed, even though our powers don't come from inside our blood.

Doesn't curiosity kill the cat? Not this time. This time, the cat is killing curiosity, unless we do something.

We have to rise, take them down. Not the government, but the Giants, for revenge for doing this to us.

Easier said than done.

Now, about two or three decades have gone, we have formed our own, tiny world.

We are the Hunted.


	2. Betrayal

**Thank you for all the people who already reviewed!**

 **I**

 _"Annabeth, Luke, RUN!" a teenage girl with short, spiky black hair and electric blue eyes shouted over her shoulder as she blocked a strike from a dracanae._

 _"THALIA!" a small blonde girl with panicking grey eyes screamed while a teenage boy with light blonde hair and sky blue eyes scooped her from the ground and began running at the direction of a tall hill where a boy with the lower body of a goat- a satyr- was beckoning at them beside a tall pine tree. Luke gave Annabeth to the satyr and then took out his sword, charging to help Thalia._

 _Immediately, he was met by a hellhound, which growled and pounced. Luke sliced open the hellhound's stomach and continued running down the hill towards Thalia, who is now cutting through an army of telekhines._

 _"What the hell are you doing?" she screamed at Luke. "Get back to Camp! I can handle this!"_

 _"There's too much," he called back. "You can't handle it!"_

 _"Yes I can!"_

 _"No you can't!"_

 _"Yes I can!"_

 _"NO!"_

 _"YES!" Thalia screamed in frustration. "Get back to where Annabeth is RIGHT NOW, Lu-"_

 _At that moment, a hydra spat a mouthful of poison at Luke. He dodged it, but most of it still splattered onto his arm. He shouted in pain._

 _"LUKE!" Thalia screamed. "Luke, go back to the Camp right now! They can heal you! You won't be helping me like this! HURRY, I'LL COVER FOR YOU!"_

 _Luke nodded, slightly ashen-faced, turned and began stumbling towards where Annabeth- who was screaming and crying- and the satyr were waiting. The satyr grabbed him and pulled him into the Camp boundaries and began wrapping his wound._

 _Meanwhile, Thalia was still fighting the army of monsters and she realized that Luke was right._ 'There's too much of them,' _she thought desperately._ 'I won't be able to make it.'

 _She was being forced backwards up the hill but even though she was close to the Camp, she was completely surrounded by monsters. For a moment through the crowd of enemies she saw Luke collapsing unconscious and Annabeth shouting at a satyr who had an arm around her and was wrapping Luke's arm at the same time. Then, he slumped Luke over his shoulder, grabbed Annabeth and began racing down the hill while the seven year old girl pulled and protested, continuously glancing back to where Thalia was surrounded. Then they disappeared over the hill._

 _'_ At least they're safe,' _Thalia thought, eerily serene and happy._

 _And then, she had an idea. It didn't change her fate, but it could save many other lives._

 _She spun around and began hacking her way towards Camp, where a tall pine tree marked the Camp boundaries. Just as she was about to reach the tree, monsters flooded into her path. Pursing her lips, Thalia did the only thing she could think of to accomplish her goal._

 _She summoned all the power within her and her chest began growing warmer and warmer, until it was painfully hot. Then, there was a flash of light._

 _Smaller, weaker monsters disintegrated while the more powerful ones looked around in confusion. Thalia had disappeared._

 _A storm formed above their heads and thunder boomed. Lightning flashed. Among the many streaks of lightning, there was one streak, and it was blue, the color of Thalia's eyes. It danced from cloud to cloud, blindingly bright against the black sky._

 _Then, the blue lightning stroke. It shot from the black clouds towards the tall pine tree. They met._

 _But instead of splintering to pieces, the pine tree remained fine. If not, it grew even greener and healthier. A ripple went from it, traveling through the hills and valleys, as an invisible border appeared. Power seeped from the tree._

 _From behind the hill, a crowd of children, Annabeth and Luke- now conscious- at the front of the crowd, watched in horror and fascination as a glow seemed to envelope the pine tree. From it radiated a power too strong to be explainable and all the monsters within the range of ten miles disintegrated._

 _After a moment, the glow gradually faded and Annabeth tore from the satyr's grip and began running towards the top of the hill, Luke following more slowly behind her._

 _"Thalia!" she screamed. "THALIA!"_

 _But when she arrived at the top of the hill and looked down at the valley beneath her, she was met by nothing. Nothing except the golden dust of disintegrated monsters, which stirred and filtered as a gust of wind blew past._

 _Annabeth put a hand onto the tall pine tree. The bark was warm beneath her small hand. "Thalia?" she whispered, her voice filled with sadness, despair, and loss. When the warmth of the bark began ebbing away, Annabeth collapsed, sobbing. Luke caught up with her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, even though tears were streaming down his face as well, mingling with the rain that continued to pour from the clouds._

 _And from that day on, Thalia protected the borders of Camp, and the tall pine tree, the mark of the boundaries, was known as Thalia's pine._

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Annabeth opened her eyes. She didn't move from her bed. She just exhaled softly and felt the deep, throbbing pain in her heart.

Just about every single night, Annabeth would have the same nightmares. She would remember every single second of it: Thalia's sacrifice, Luke's desperation, and the painful, overwhelming confusion, fear, and sadness when she finally realized that Thalia wasn't going to come back.

Sighing, Annabeth tossed aside her blankets and got up from bed, careful not to wake her roommates. Quietly, Annabeth slipped into the Girl's Bathroom and took a quick shower, the heavy drops of water pounding down her back.

They were the Hunted. That's what they called themselves. Annabeth wasn't too sure how they formed, but they were there. They were dozens of teenagers with unnatural abilities. No one really knew how those powers formed, but the second those powers were activated; they couldn't be turned back down. Some of them had abilities such as Charmspeak, Water Manipulation, Healing, Plant Manipulation, and so many more. Annabeth's special ability was High-level Intelligence and hand-to-hand combat, though the hand-to-hand was a part of hard work and effort.

Having difficult abilities weren't the only trouble. Yeah, some of their abilities were pretty cool, but there was always a downside to the good stuff. They were hunted down by an organization called the Giants. The Giants wanted to dissect them to figure out what made them tick, and in simpler words, no one really enjoyed being sliced apart like a lab rat.

When their abilities were activated, scouts were sent out to retrieve the new Hunted and to bring them to Camp, a safe haven for them. Nevertheless, they were constantly attacked by mechanical monsters, and they knew far too well that every battle could be their last one.

The Camp they made was basically an underground fortress. The entrance was just a rickety old warehouse beside Thalia's Pine, but don't let the flimsy covering fool you. After several inspections and passcodes, you would find yourself in something like an underground camp. There was a Big House, where offices, libraries, and meeting rooms were located. The dining area was outside, where there were twenty large tables in front of a stage-like place. There was a shack that serves as the Armory, training areas, and even a small pool. Twenty cabins form a double U, the inhabitants sorted by their abilities. Technically, you have assigned table as well for meals, but basically nobody had every followed that rule.

Oh yes. They also had a small computer that worked great with hacking into random bank accounts for money. Annabeth loved that tiny computer.

Finishing her shower, Annabeth slipped into short jeans, a comfortable shirt, and battered sneakers. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and made her way out for breakfast.

Immediately, she could smell the buttery fragrance of fresh pancakes spreading through Camp. Smiling, Annabeth hurried over to see several kids already seated at her table while their chef/Plant Manipulator; Katie Gardner served buttermilk pancakes drenched in syrup.

Annabeth grabbed her fill and tucked in. Even though they were the Hunted and all, it was pretty sweet to have a personal cook that could make food even better than the chefs working for five-star hotels. Soon, more people trickled in, chugging down their coffee and shoveling down their breakfasts.

Then, Annabeth saw Luke, and unconsciously, she felt her face heating up.

On the run, Luke was nothing but a big brother to Annabeth, but after grieving Thalia's departing, something… changed. Luke didn't really seem like a big brother anymore. He seemed more like…

Annabeth shook her head, refusing to finish her thought.

"Hey, Annabeth," Luke said, smiling as he took a seat beside her.

"Hi Luke," Annabeth said back casually while playing around with a piece of tissue paper. Luke chuckled to himself while he took a few bites of pancake. Annabeth ate a bit of hers too.

The door to the mess hall creaked as a Percy Jackson strolled in.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged glances and nodded slightly. They had no romantic feelings for each other, obviously, but they make a good enough team.

Just last night, Percy and Annabeth had a deep discussion with Chiron, the leader of Camp. Chiron was made by the Giants, and he was a hybrid between a human and a horse, a centaur. Just not so long ago, Annabeth had found an old journal written by a Hunted years ago, describing 'Pan'. 'Pan' was a secret weapon, who could give them the ability to control the wilderness, but hidden far away. Controlling the wilderness didn't seem like much, but the problem was that more and more of the Hunted were coming in, and slowly and steadily, they were going to face the problem of overcrowding. With Pan, they would either be able to expand the Camp or to create another Camp, therefore solving their problem of overcrowding.

Percy grabbed his food and took a seat beside Annabeth. Luke smiled, said "Hi," and continued to eat, ignoring the two of them.

Annabeth turned to Percy. "Chiron should make the announcement soon…"

Percy nodded in agreement, too busy to reply with his mouth filled with pancakes.

Annabeth frowned at his manners.

Just when she was about to finish her breakfast, Chiron's voice caught her attention. "Attention, everybody!"

She looked up to find Chiron standing at the front on the small stage, megaphone in hand.

When all eyes and ears were on him, Chiron nodded and began his announcement. "As everybody should have realized by now, we are having the problem of overcrowding."

There were mumbles and nods of agreement everywhere.

"For now, the problem's fine, but in less than a year, we're going to run out of sleeping space, food, water, and other resources, which might lead to bigger trouble.

In order to counter this problem, we have decided to start a Quest; A Quest to find Pan."

Everyone started to murmur excitedly. A few of the Hunted even leaned forward, as if waiting to be picked for the job.

Chiron continued, "Pan is a machine that would enable us to control the wilderness. We could use Pan to either create a new Camp or to enlarge this one. Last night, I have decided the Questers, or more accurately, Quester."

Even more of the Hunted leaned forward, eager to be picked.

"We have decided that the Quester would be Grover Underwood." Chiron finished.

There was a roar of shock. Chiron had told Grover about the offer, and Grover accepted. After all, Grover did have the ability to control nature using music. He seemed like the best pick, but his scrawny looks, skinny frame, and frightened personality made him the worst choice of the matter. Not to mention that he was slightly crippled.

"Why him?" someone protested.

"He's not going to get anything done!" another person added.

"Even a kid's going to do better than him!"

Grover seemed to wilt under the insults.

"SHUT UP!" Percy yelled, shooting up from his seat.

The room grew silent again.

"Thank you, Percy," Chiron nodded at the Water manipulator. "Grover will go, and there will be no argument."

There were other soft sounds of protest, but it was all cut down by Percy's glare. Sullenly, the Hunted finished their breakfast and ran off to do their daily chores.

"Well, that's settled." Annabeth said flatly.

Percy nodded and looked at Grover anxiously. Grover looked frighteningly grim as he slung his backpack over his back.

"Are you ready to go?" Annabeth asked kindly.

"Yes." Grover said, his voice determined.

Chiron trotted up to them. "Grover, do your best, but don't strain yourself too much. If you get stuck, you can always IM us, and we can send others to help you, understood?"

Grover nodded grimly.

Annabeth and Percy got ready escorted Grover to the nearest bus station. The most important reason why they had suggested Chiron to choose Grover for the job was because Grover had told them he had dreamed about Pan. It seemed as if Pan was giving Grover instructions of where to find him. Even though dreams might be kind of unreliable, it was the only shot they had.

Percy, Grover, and Annabeth left the dining area and climbed the rickety stairs up to the warehouse, pushing aside the flap that hid the entrance. Soon, they were out in the open. Annabeth felt painfully vulnerable, despite being armed to the teeth, but that was the least of their worries.

"What is that smell?" Percy said, disgusted.

Annabeth inhaled, and fought the urge to gag. Something smelled terrible, like a mixture of pine needles and rotting vegetables. Beside her, Grover whimpered and pointed towards Thalia's Pine.

When Annabeth turned to look at the protector of their Camp, she had to fight the urge to puke. Just yesterday, Thalia's Pine had been beautiful, its branches firm and its needles in a deep, healthy shade of green, but now, it was as if the tree was rotting right before their eyes. Pieces of bark were peeling off in layers. The branches drooped, and its needles were in a sickly shade of yellow, falling from the branches in clumps.

"Who could have done this?" Annabeth whispered, aghast. She ran up to the tree and placed a hand on the trunk, but jerked her hand back when her touch seemed to cause even more of the bark to disintegrate.

"I have no idea." Percy's voice was filled with rage.

For a brief moment, the three of them just stood there.

"We have to save Thalia's Pine." Annabeth said.

"B-but we have to find Pan too." Grover said, stuttering a bit.

Percy swore. Annabeth clenched her fists.

"We have to inform Chiron," Annabeth said. "Another quest would be issued for saving Thalia's Pine. We'll escort Grover to the station first, and then…"

"I can go by myself." Grover said, his voice trembling.

Percy frowned. "Are you sure? Do you know your way there?"

"I do." Grover smiled weakly. "If I get lost, I can always ask for directions."

"All right…" Annabeth said uncertainly.

Grover gave them a quick good-bye before walking off into the distance. Annabeth felt another heavy weight pressing into her chest. There was another person going off into the unknown, with a possible death hanging right above his head.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Annabeth said. The two of them slipped back into Camp, but not before Annabeth caught another glimpse of Thalia's Pine. Annabeth felt more helpless than ever.

When she was little, she was often very scared of the darkness, thunder, and even her own imagination. Whenever she had nightmares, she would always run to either Thalia or Luke. Even now, she would always tell Luke about all of her troubles, and Luke would always have the right advice for her.

"I'll go visit Luke," Annabeth called. Percy just nodded and pointed at the Big House where Chiron's office was. He's going to alert Chiron.

They parted, and Annabeth walked through the hills towards Luke's cabin, Cabin 11, the cabin of trickery, trade, and theives. Already, she felt some of the weight lifting off her shoulders at the thought of seeing her… brother?

Again, Annabeth felt her face heating up.

Annabeth soon reached Luke's door. She knocked quickly, but no one answered the door.

Frowning, Annabeth peeked in. There was no one in the room. Luke's roommates' beds were neatly made, their clothes strewn around the Cabin. Annabeth wrinkled her nose in disgust, though the expression disappeared when she saw Luke's bed.

Luke's bed was rumpled. His clothes and possessions were missing from his chest. All of his weapons were gone. There was a stain on the bedsheets. Even at the door, Annabeth could smell the stain, which was a mixture of pine needles and rotting vegetables…

Annabeth's hand flew to her mouth. She raced through Camp, towards the Big House, bursting into Chiron's office, almost knocking Percy to the ground.

"Has anyone seen Luke? Luke is missing. Find Luke. Drop whatever you're doing. Just find Luke!" The last three words was a mixture between a shriek of desperation and a scream of rage.

"Annabeth, calm down, tell me what is happening…" Chiron tried to comfort her gently, but she was becoming increasingly hysterical. Percy looked bewildered and confused, but he grabbed the intercom and said into it, "Everybody, find Luke?" It turned out to be more like a question.

"FIND LUKE!" Annabeth shrieked.

"Find Luke!" Percy repeated into the intercom, his voice booming from the speakers and echoing through the rocky hills.

Annabeth could hear the thudding of feet on the floorboards as everyone raced up and down the Camp, calling for Luke. Percy found Annabeth huddled on the floor, chanting quietly to herself that "Luke's still here, Luke's still here…"

Percy helped Annabeth up and led her to the sofa in Chiron's office. After ten minutes, everyone reported that they had searched the Camp from down to up, and Luke was gone. As an even deeper blow, Charles Beckendorf reported that the Armory has been raided, and Katie Gardner reported that the content of the stain was the same as the content that had poisoned Thalia's Pine.

In simpler words, Luke was a traitor.

Everything was happening too fast and too soon. They had sent Grover off on a mission to find Pan. They had found Thalia's Pine poisoned. Luke had poisoned Thalia's Pine and ran away. Around her, everyone was stunned at the frightening new conclusion. Percy had never seen Chiron's face so grim and serious.

"Luke must have been framed." Annabeth said weakly.

Percy shook his head. "Missing weapons, poison, missing clothes and belongings… Luke probably wasn't framed."

Annabeth gritted her teeth and fought the urge to cry. She felt as if her perfect (or as perfect as it could be) world was crumbling apart in her face.

 **Please Review!**


	3. Escape

**Hi guys! Sorry for the delay. Even though I spent like, forever on this chapter, I feel like it's more quantity than quality. But I wish you enjoy it!**

 **~theKeeperofMemories**

 **II**

"I'm sorry for the hurried gathering," Chiron apologized to the crowd of Hunted, all gathered in the dining area, "but there is an emergency. As some of you might have discovered, Thalia's Pine is dying."

There were shouts and protests of surprise.

"What?"

"That's impossible!"

"Thalia's Pine can never die!"

Chiron stomped a hoof on the wooden floor, efficiently silencing everybody.

"It's the truth. Those of you who doesn't believe it is welcome to go up and see for yourself."

More than half of the Hunted stood up and went to check. Almost immediately, there were shouts of shock and horror.

"Oh my GODS!"

"Ugh, the smell! It's going to take forever to get the smell out!" Obviously, that was Drew Tanaka.

The Hunted came back, their expressions solemn, disgusted or scared.

"As you all have seen, Thalia's Pine is dying, putting us all in danger. We need somebody who has the confidence and skill to be able to somehow save the Pine."

"Do we know a way yet?" somebody asked.

Chiron shook his head. "Not yet. We'll find a way, but before that, we should send out a Quester to try to figure things out. Who do you think should go?"

There were many suggestions from the crowd. One person even said, "Luke," before realizing that Luke had betrayed them and was gone. After a while, the shouts died down, and the Quester was still undecided.

Then, a voice piped up, "How about Clarisse La Rue?" Immediately, there was a chorus of agreements.

"In favor of Clarisse La Rue going on the Quest to save Thalia's Pine?" Many hands raised. Even though Clarisse wasn't exactly the nicest person in Camp, everybody knew that she was perfectly capable in going on a Quest. She was one of the best fighters in Camp, and though sometimes quite wild in battle, she was usually pretty level-headed.

"Clarisse it is, then!" Chiron nodded at the athletic girl, who stood up, smirking broadly, and stalked out the room. The other Campers also scattered, chattering somewhat excitingly.

Everybody seems happy with the choice. Everybody, except Percy. He couldn't push down the bad feeling in his stomach. And it's only growing as night began to fall.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Clarisse left early the next morning, before most people in Camp was awake.

When Percy woke, it was almost noon. Though the bad feeling hadn't faded, he couldn't help wondering if he's just being paranoid. Sure, he didn't want Clarisse to fail and Thalia's Pine to die, but most people has the same wish, especially Annabeth. After Luke had betrayed them, she was left with nobody, except Thalia's Pine, the last trace of her friend and savior's existence, other than her memory.

She would wish for Thalia's Pine's recovery the most.

The bad feeling didn't lessen.

Percy was just being paranoid. He was just being paranoid.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

 _"Percy!" a familiar voice bleated._

 _"Grover?" Percy looked around frantically, but he couldn't see anything. He was surrounded by darkness. "Where are you?"_

 _"Percy, can you hear me?" Grover's voice seems to come from everywhere._

 _"Yes, but where are you?"_

 _Grover ignored his question and said, "Percy, listen to me. I can't keep up this connection for much longer. All I know is that I'm in a very dark room, and I need help. I'm captured by this Giant named Polyphemus. Polyphemus is the protector of the Golden Fleece! You have to come before…"_

 _Grover's voice trailed off and vanished._

 _"Grover?" Percy called frantically. "Grover?!"_

 _There was no reply._

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Percy woke with a jolt. He has to find Grover, he has to save him. And the Golden Fleece… what in Hades is that?

Percy could hear footsteps outside his cabin door. His roommate Tyson's bed was empty, and a dim strip of light shone into the room through the curtains. Somehow, even though Camp was underground, there was still light. It was truly strange.

He blinked. It was morning already.

For a moment, he just stared, relaxing into the warmth of his bed, before he remembered the dream and bolted out. He showered, dressed, and brushed his teeth in top speed, not caring to comb his hair. The Golden Fleece… There was only one person he could trust asking, and that was Annabeth Chase.

Apparently luck was on his side today; he found Annabeth the first place he looked: the dining area. He got a plate of eggs and bacon and sat down across from her.

Annabeth seems to be still recovering from Luke's betrayal. She picked at her food, and dark shadows hung under her eyes. She didn't look very nice.

"Hi," Percy greeted cheerfully.

"'Morning," Annabeth mumbled in reply.

After glancing around a little to check that no one's eavesdropping, Percy leaned forward, his expression turning serious, and said, "Grover contacted me last night."

That caught her attention. Immediately, she looked up, her now dull gray eyes wide. "Is he okay?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't think so. He told me that he was captured by a Giant called Poly…something and he's being held in a very dark room. The Poly-dude is the protector of this thing called the Golden Fleece or something. Do you know what that is?"

"Wait," Annabeth frowned, "if he's in a very dark room, how did he Iris Message you?"

Iris Messenging, also known as IM, is an invention by Cabin 9, the cabin of crafts, mechanics, and very rarely, fire. It requires a rainbow, and this coin that Cabin 9 had invented is able to contact whoever you want using the rainbow. The only downside was that the conversation could only last 5 minutes unless you want to throw in another coin.

"He didn't IM me," Percy said. "He contacted me in my dreams."

"He could do that?"

Percy shrugged. "Anyways, about Poly-person and the Golden Fleece…?"

"Right!" Annabeth shot up from her seat and briskly left the dining area, abandoning her breakfast.

"Wait, Annabeth," Percy called, "My breakfast..."

"There's still lunch!" she called over her shoulder.

Despite Percy's sorrow for losing his breakfast, he had to fight the urge to smile. The old Annabeth was returning.

Groaning loudly, he left his breakfast as well and followed Annabeth towards the Big House. They arrived at the library, where a small computer was located on the side.

Annabeth began typing away while Percy looked around. He was quite ashamed to say that despite already being in Camp for some time, this was the first time he had entered the library.

"Got it!" Annabeth shouted in triumph. "The Golden Fleece is a magical object invented by the Giants. It has the power to heal anything, protect, and give additional power to…" she trailed off as she stared at the Wikipedia page.

For a moment, there was only silence before Annabeth suddenly whooped, all traces of mourning gone. "That's it!" she cried, grabbing Percy's shoulders and shaking him violently. "That's the way to save Thalia's Pine! The Golden Fleece could heal it!"

Percy had never seen Annabeth so happy.

"We should contact Clarisse and-,"

"No," he interrupted. Annabeth turned to him, confused.

"Why not?"

Determination was written all over his face. "Grover told _me_ to go save him. He told _me_ to find the Golden Fleece, which was where he is. I will go, even if Chiron doesn't allow it."

Annabeth blinked, then sighed. "Very well then. I will go with you."

Percy nodded before her words registered properly. "Yes… Wait, what?"

"I said, that I will go with you," Annabeth repeated slowly, as if talking to a toddler. Well, Percy certainly has the maturity of one, in her opinion.

"You don't have to," Percy protested. "I'll be fine."

"You'd need all the help you could get," Annabeth shot back. "And for your information, Grover is my friend as well, so I'm going with you. End of discussion."

With that, she stalked out of the library, going back to her cabin to pack for the quest.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

It wasn't that Percy didn't like Annabeth. Actually, he likes her very much… not in the romantic way. Maybe a little. No, absolutely not; she obviously has a crush on Luke… who's gone…

Anyways, it wasn't that Percy didn't like Annabeth, but he didn't want her to come with him because well, it'd be dangerous, and Annabeth has dreams for her future: she wants to be an architect, as impossible as it may seem, but as for Percy… he's not very sure yet, and if he died, he wouldn't really feel sad that he didn't grow up to become somebody. He might feel sad for leaving his mom and friends, but that's just about all. Annabeth was different.

He was so lost in thought while packing that he didn't realize Tyson, his only cabin-mate, had walked in on him packing.

Tyson cocked his head to one side and asked Percy, "What are you doing, brother?"

Percy jumped about a foot in the air.

"T-Tyson!" he spluttered, looking both surprised and horrified. "What are you doing here?"

Tyson looked confused. "Tyson sleeps here with Brother. We share cabin."

Percy shook his head mentally. "Right, of course. Sorry."

"What are you doing?" Tyson asked again.

Percy looked down onto his bed, where he was stuffing food, water, and other necessities into the bag. "I'm… um… organizing my supplies! Right, I'm organizing my supplies."

"Percy is putting them into a bag. Why?"

"Well…"

"Are you following the big, scary girl?"

Percy guessed that 'the big, scary girl' was Clarisse.

"Um… I guess so, yeah." After all, he _is_ going on a quest.

"Oh!" Tyson clapped his big hands together. "Tyson wants to go too! Can Tyson go?"

"Um… No?"

Tyson pouted. "But Tyson wants to go!"

"Tyson!" Percy tried to sound as exasperated as he could without sounding or looking guilty. "You can't go."

Then, trying to hide his guilt, he turned away and reverted to packing. Behind him he could hear a creak of hinges and a click as the door swung shut behind Tyson. Percy let out a loose breath.

When he came back, he'll apologize. Everything will be fine. Of course it will.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Percy met up with Annabeth at the dying Thalia's Pine at midnight. After he made sure Tyson was sound asleep, he crept out of his cabin, trying to make his way through camp as quietly as he could, though that's kind of difficult when there are pebbles scattered all over the ground and rocks that can trip you if you can't see.

Annabeth was already there, waiting for him impatiently. They nodded curtly at each other, a simple acknowledge, turned, and was about to cross the boundaries that Thalia's Pine marked, about to step outside the safety zone when they heard thundering footsteps behind them.

The two of them froze, and jumped when a familiar voice bellowed, "Percy!"

They spun around to find Tyson lumbering towards them, waving maniacally.

"Crap," Percy swore.

"He's going to wake the whole camp!" Annabeth whisper-screamed. "Run!"

And that was exactly what they did.

But Tyson was much bigger, taller, and was catching up fast. Percy and Annabeth were frantic. If he catches up… What if he told everyone…?

It was dark, too dark, and Percy, who was in front, took one step in front, and before he knew it, his shoe was filled with freezing water. He withdrew immediately, halting Annabeth, and using his ability to control water, easily vaporized the water in his shoe. But because they had stopped, Tyson caught up, looking excited.

"Tyson wanted to come too!" he explained happily. "So Tyson followed brother here!"

"Tyson," Percy tried to keep his voice calm, "it's going to be very dangerous. Please go back to camp."

"Where is the big scary girl?" Tyson looked confused. "Won't she protect us?"

"We don't need her to protect us!" Annabeth muttered behind Percy, looking offended.

Percy, on the other hand, was stuck. "Well… she… she just… I… we…" he trailed off with a small whimpering sound, turning to Annabeth for help.

With a sigh, the blonde stepped forward. "Clarisse left first to get ready. We were just about to go meet up with her. Please go back to camp, Tyson."

Tyson pouted. "Tyson wants to go!"

"You-," Percy was about to snap when Annabeth cut her off.

"Fine. But you have to swear on the River Styx that you won't tell Camp anything."

Percy stared at her incredulously while Tyson cheered. "Why would you do that?" he whispered.

She just turned away, taking out this strange remote-like thing. "We need transportation," she said in her matter-of-factly voice. And then she pressed the red button on the remote that doesn't look like it should be pressed for the safety of all mankind.

At first, nothing happened, then Percy heard neighing coming from the water, neighing that sounds extremely like horses.

In the dark, he saw the faint outline of three something's emerging from the water. When he pointed his flashlight towards them, he saw that they were horses. In the water. Yes, totally normal.

"Hippocampi," Annabeth explained, taking off her shoes and socks, putting them in her bag, then climbing onto one as if she did this every day. "Half horse and half fish; Cabin 9 made them, for transportation for questers."

Tyson also welcomed the new, apparently-mechanical creatures with open arms. "Rainbow!" he cried, climbing onto the back of a particular large one. Percy immediately felt bad for the Hippocampus.

Awkwardly, Percy also climbed onto one, only to find that it's not as uncomfortable as he had expected. When the Hippocampi took off, the feeling was kind of like riding horses, there's not much difference.

And so, following the dark river, they rode off into the darkness.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

They were riding the Hippocampi for a really long time, and Percy almost cried in relief when they stopped next to a large cruise ship, right under the ladder rungs. He was getting saddle-sore.

Annabeth was the first to get up, Percy second, and Tyson last, because he was making a huge fuss about leaving his Hippocampus, which he had named Rainbow. At long last, they climbed up, sneaking into the ship through a little trapdoor. They were extra cautious, peeking over corners and looking over shoulders, because this place just feels plain _hostile_.

Not only that, there were not a single passenger in sight. It was quite a large cruise ship, yes, but small enough for the trio to circle around it once in 10 minutes. No one was in sight.

"This isn't right," Annabeth voiced what was on everybody's mind.

And it at that moment did they hear footsteps. Immediately, the three of them dodged behind a large barrel, trying to keep their breathings quiet as the people passed.

"When do you think the poison will completely destroy the tree?" a voice was asking.

"Oh, another few days should be enough."

Annabeth's breath hitched, and Percy swore quietly. Tyson just frowned.

They would recognize that voice anywhere.

"And when the tree finally falls, the Camp shall be destroyed," said Luke Castellan, his scar rippling as a cold, cruel smile spread on his face.

"Titans," Annabeth hissed.

"We have to get out of here!" Percy whispered back.

Tyson nodded, looking frightened.

Immediately, when the footsteps and voices faded into the distance, the trio sneaked out once more. As quickly and quietly as they could, they managed to lower a lifeboat, and away they rowed.

Away from danger, towards even more danger.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Another few more hours passed, taking turns rowing the boat and resting.

"I wonder how's camp…" Percy murmured.

"And Thalia's Pine…" Annabeth added quietly.

"Where is the big scary girl?" Tyson asked worriedly. "Is she okay?"

"Clarisse should be fine," Annabeth answered. "She's one of the most skilled fighters…"

A loud growl made them jump.

"Sorry," Percy grinned sheepishly. "But I'm really hungry…"

The three of them sighed dejectedly and allowed silence to dominant the tiny lifeboat once more.

The sun was setting, which is definitely not good. If they couldn't get onto some kind of dry land… they might be trapped in the sea for forever. If that happens, even Percy's ability over water wouldn't be able to save them.

But for once, luck seems to be on their side.

In the distance, a small dot appeared in the horizon, and it grew larger and larger till Percy, Annabeth and Tyson were able to read the fading painted words clearly.

 _CSS Birmingham._

But that's not the only surprise.

Perched proudly and gallantly at the head of the ship, was the big scary girl herself: Clarisse La Rue.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Percy never thought he would be happy to see Clarisse, but he almost wept with joy and relief when they saw her.

She had spotted them as well, and welcomed (well, not really welcomed… more like dragged) them onboard, tying the little lifeboat to the side.

"Thank goodness we found you," Percy said, happy beyond describable. "I'm simply famished."

Clarisse just gave him a cold look and headed towards to kitchen. Percy cheered… and Clarisse came out with three pieces of bread, one for each guest. Percy stopped immediately.

The bread did basically nothing to fill them, but it was still food, and Clarisse herself didn't exactly have that much a big supply of sustenance either.

The beds weren't the most comfortable either, but it'll have to do, though (much to Annabeth's dismay), Clarisse and Annabeth had to share a room.

But they didn't know that their luck had already ran out.

It was midnight, a peaceful, gentle night on the sea. The sky was dotted with stars and the moon hung behind thin wisps of clouds, shaped like a curved sword.

Large dark shapes emerged from the water, grabbing the rungs on the side of the _CSS Birmingham_ and, one by one, hauling themselves onto the ship, landing quietly onto the deck.

If Percy hadn't woken up from a nightmare, they all would've been murdered.

But he woke up, shooting up from his bed, drenched in sweat. He decided to take a leisurely stroll through the ship- water had always calmed him- but when he neared the door, he heard scuffling outside.

Grabbing Riptide, Percy slowly eased the door open, crawling out to investigate. And he discovered, crawling all over the deck were hordes of monsters.

Percy ducked back into his room that he shared with Tyson, shaking his roommate awake.

"Tyson!" he hissed. "Wake up! We're under attack!"

Tyson cracked open one milky, blind eye before the other, uninjured eye opened as well. Yawning, he sat up.

"Is it morning already?" he asked groggily.

"No!" Percy whispered frantically. "Monsters! We're under attack!"

That woke Tyson up. "I'll tell Anniebeth and big, scary girl."

Percy nodded. "I'll hold the monsters off."

And they put their simple plan into action.

Percy cut through monster after monster, making sure that none of them manages to get below-deck to where the sleeping quarters were.

It was a difficult job, as there were so many monsters, and after all, it was in the middle of the night: Percy was still slightly sleepy and he could barely see anything.

He slashed through a hellhound, then impaled two telekhines at once. He was battling a dracanae when something slipped past him: a sneaky empousa.

Cursing, Percy turned to try to stop it, but the dracanae attacked, forcing him to block.

And then, there was a flash of blonde and the empousa exploded into golden dust.

Annabeth emerged, her gray eyes stormy, knife in hand. Side by side, Percy and Annabeth fought, Clarisse joining them soon after while Tyson bashed monsters' heads in with this metal plank he had found somewhere. Percy and Annabeth soon lost sight of Clarisse and even the big bulk of Tyson had vanished in the crowd of monsters.

"Get to the lifeboat," Annabeth told Percy, gritting her teeth against the sword of another random monster. It was easy for the two of them as they were already near the deck, and with a high leap, the two of them splashed into the sea. Percy, using his Water Manipulation, got the two of them onto the lifeboat with no big problem, drying them as well along the way.

"Tyson!" Annabeth called. "Clarisse!"

There was no answer.

Immediately millions of horrible possible scenarios shot through Percy's mind, many of them too gruesome to be describable.

And then, the situation turned even worse.

There was a small boom of an explosion, and the whole ship erupted into flames.

"NO!" Annabeth screamed.

"Cut the rope!" Percy bellowed, afraid that the fire would reach them. He quickly sliced through it, and the lifeboat began drifting away.

"Tyson! Clarisse!" Annabeth was still shouting.

The currents were fast, pushing against Percy's powers, and soon, all they could see was a bright dot in the distance that disappeared under the dark depths of the seas below.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

They drifted for a very, very long time, and it was high noon when in the horizon, they spotted an island.

But that didn't cheer them up.

Tyson… Clarisse…

The lifeboat bumped gently onto the shore, and hands helped them up.

A pretty girl with perfect makeup, fancy hair, and stylish clothes welcomed them warmly.

"Welcome to CC's Spa and Resort."

 **How was it? Please review!**


	4. Potions

**III**

The pretty girl led them around the island, showing them around, and Percy couldn't help but notice that there were only girls.

"Where are the boys?" he inquired.

"Another part of the island," the girl replied before continuing on her tour.

"Now," she said as they made their way to a tall building, "I have to take you two to CC. She's the boss of this place basically, in charge of everything. You got to check in with her first before you are allowed stay for a while."

Annabeth and Percy nodded in understanding and they entered the building.

They went up numerous levels and down countless hallways before arriving at a large door. The girl knocked twice before entering.

Inside the room was a beautiful woman with long dark hair, creamy skin, and a perfect figure. She's like the world's most beautiful models mixed into one.

"Hello," said the woman. Even her voice was beautiful, musical. "I am CC, the manager of CC's Spa and Resort. Let me see…" she swooped down towards Percy and Annabeth, looking the two of them over. "Hm… my dear," she put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder and turned her around to face the girl that brought them here, "Follow her. She'll take you to get made up. You look like you really need a nice, warm bath."

Annabeth nodded, her eyes becoming slightly dull, like she was in a trance, and she followed the girl out the room.

CC then turned to Percy. "Now as for you… I'll take care of you myself."

In Percy's opinion, that did not sound nice or appealing, but he couldn't do anything. CC began moving around the room, bustling around, making a… smoothie?

"If you haven't noticed, this place is magical," she explained as she added something else into the smoothie cup. She added another spoonful of some kind of pink powder, then put it onto the smoothie machine to let it mix. After some time, she poured the finished smoothie into a cup and handed it to Percy. It looked like strawberry smoothie, and smelled like one, too.

"What is this?" he asked anyway.

"Strawberry smoothie," CC replied simply. "Please enjoy. I have some business to attend to really quick before I get to you. I wouldn't want a customer to just stand around with nothing to do, right? This place would crash within seconds if I was like that."

Percy nodded in agreement and watched for a while as CC hurried around the room, working on who-knows-what. Then he sipped the smoothie. It tasted exactly how a strawberry smoothie should: sweet, soft, and cold.

He continued to drink slowly, watching CC, also lost in thought, thinking about Tyson, Clarisse, Grover, Annabeth, Chiron, camp…

He finished the smoothie.

CC was still working.

And then suddenly, his whole body was on fire. The pain was so intense, he couldn't even open his mouth to scream. All he could make was this strange, choking noise and clench his teeth, trying to drive away the pain but failing miserably. It spread through his veins like poison, and he could almost feel his bones melting in the heat of the pain.

Sweat trickled from his forehead, and tears of pain were squeezed out from the corners of his tightly closed eyes. Other than the pain, he couldn't feel anything. When he opened his eyes a crack, through the haze of black and red, he could CC standing over him, her expression too blurry for him to see, but if he were to guess, she would be looking smug, or something of the sort.

As suddenly as the pain came, it stopped, but that did not stop Percy from feeling very, very weird. The feeling was hard to describe, like he was sore all over, but comfortable, like lying on multiple layers of soft blankets.

Then, he opened his eyes, and for a long moment, he couldn't remember where he was. Last time he checked, he was in a large, tidy white room filled with expensive furniture. Now he was in a… cave of some sort. But the cave was strange: the walls were red, and light seems to be seeping through it. Then the walls shifted, revealing CC, a cold smile on her face. Sadly, that wasn't all. CC had become gigantic, bigger than a giant (not that Percy knew how big a Giant was).

He squeaked (yes, squeaked), as CC's large hands cupped around him and picked him up, one finger tickling behind his ears. It felt surprisingly nice, not that Percy would ever admit it out loud.

"No wonder that girl likes you," cooed CC, her voice painfully loud, "you make such a cute guinea pig."

 _Guinea pig?_

"Well," CC continued, "here's your new home!" and she stuffed him into a cage hidden in the shadows at the corner of the room, filled with a lot more guinea pigs. All victims of CC's evil strawberry smoothie.

At that moment, Annabeth, led by the girl from earlier, came in, and Percy's little guinea pig mouth dropped open. After a bath and some makeover, she became drop-dead _gorgeous_ , almost seeming to glow like a goddess. He couldn't stop staring.

"My, you look wonderful, dear!" came CC's cheerful voice. "Now…"

"Where's Percy?" Annabeth interrupted.

At the mention of his name, Percy was jerked out of his daze and began to squeak violently, clawing at the cage. Annabeth glanced at the cage, and Percy's heart lifted… then sank again when she turned away with a frown.

Nonetheless, he continued to squeak and claw, trying to make as much of a ruckus as he could as a small guinea pig.

"Percy is somewhere else, still getting ready," CC answered Annabeth's question. "But maybe he's already done and waiting for you at the ship. Now," she suddenly became business-like, "I'm going to give you a choice. Do you want to stay here, enjoy life, remain pretty forever, or will you want to leave with your little boy friend on that petty quest?"

 _'It's not petty!'_ Percy wanted to shout, but obviously, he couldn't. Annabeth looked dazed, like she was hypnotized, and when CC asked her the question, she nodded slowly in gradual understanding. After some time of thought, and looking around the room as if trying to make up her mind, Annabeth turned to an expectant CC and said, "Can you give me some time alone to think about it? It's a tough question."

CC nodded. "Of course. Take all the time you want." Then gesturing at the girl helper, they left the room.

Immediately after the door closed, Annabeth snapped out of her acted daze, hurrying to the guinea pig cage. "Percy, is that you? Are you in there?"

Percy the guinea pig squeaked as loudly as he can, still trying to claw through the bars to Annabeth.

"She turned you into a guinea pig?" Annabeth hissed. Percy nodded.

"CC…" Annabeth looked thoughtful. "CC… Who in heaven's name is she? A witch…" Annabeth looked around the room, her gray eyes lingering on the shelf where all the potion ingredients were stored. "Cabin 20! She's just like the Hunted in Cabin 20!"

Percy nodded again.

"CC…" Annabeth continued to mutter to herself. "CC… the stories that Chiron had told about former Hunted… CC… C… Circe!"

Percy blinked, vaguely remembering a story of this powerful Hunted that were considered a real witch.

"CC has to be Circe, the witch who used to be in Cabin 20 before she left to start this place! She hates men, and used to turn them into pigs, but apparently those were too big…" Annabeth mused. Percy shuddered at the thought of being turned into a _pig_.

"Is there a way to turn you back?" Annabeth turned a worried gaze to Percy. "How do we continue on this quest with you as a guinea pig? We've already lost Clarisse and Tyson… And Camp… if we don't hurry…"

Annabeth hurried to the shelf of potion ingredients, thinking deeply, her thoughts completely blocking out the sounds of the guinea pigs' chatter. "I borrowed a book from Cabin 20 before," Annabeth muttered, more to herself than to the others, "when Cabin 11 somehow transformed all our furniture into paper. It was a spell, and I was trying to make something that could reverse the spell…" she took a small bottle off the shelf, then another, then another. "If I remember correctly…"

She began to bustle around, just like CC, trying to remember exactly how she had made that reversing potion. Annabeth added strange powders and other ingredients, stirred, turned up the fire, stirred even more, spooned some up to sniff at it… Then after some time, every second nerve-racking because CC and her helper might come in at any time, Annabeth held up a bunch of pills that looks like those gummy vitamins that kids loves to eat.

Triumphantly, she hurried back to the cage, but at that moment, CC swept in, her face filled with shock and surprise.

Annabeth turned a fraction to see Circe, or CC, from the corner of her eye, and in one smooth motion, tossed all the vitamins into the cage.

Guinea pigs scrambled around, trampling each other for the vitamins. Percy caught one and immediately stuffed it into his mouth, along with a bunch of other guinea pigs.

"NO!" Circe screamed in panic. "You're letting the worse of them out!"

Inside the cage, the guinea pigs began to grow, bursting the cage open.

To Percy's relief, he was wearing clothes, though he wasn't sure how it happened. Near him was a bunch of big men with large, bushy beards and eye-patches and all those pirate stuff.

Percy and Annabeth grabbed their bags from the ground and ran out the room, Circe's screams echoing down the halls, mingling with the bloodthirsty roars of pirates.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

They couldn't see their boat anywhere, so they hurried onto a random one, hauling up the anchor and cutting the rope. Within minutes, they were off sailing on an old, dirty, rickety ship with its name painted in fading letters: _Queen Anne's Revenge_.

What a welcoming name.

Percy and Annabeth were spending an awfully long time on sea, much to Percy's delight, and once again, they sailed for such a long time, too long a time before they saw another island up ahead.

The duo was beginning to feel sick about another possibly evil island when they saw two people standing on the shore, dragging a battered boat up the sand. Two people they knew.

It was Clarisse and Tyson.

 **Please Review! It makes us happy. :)**

 **~chocolatebackground, theKeeperofMemories, and shadowell**


	5. Saved

**I am so sorry for the confusing chapter just now. I accidentally made a mistake, and I got the planning a bit confused, but here's the edited version. I apologize for the complications. XD**

 **Without further ado, let's begin!**

 **IV**

When the _Queen Anne's Revenge_ bumped against the shore, Percy and Annabeth hopped off the ship, landing lightly on the soft white sand. Clarisse and Tyson saw them immediately and ran over. When they saw who they were, four things happened simultaneously.

1\. Tyson: "PEEEEERCY!"

2\. Percy: "TYSON, you're ALIVE!"

3\. Clarisse: "Pity none of you died."

4\. Annabeth: "Shut up, Clarisse."

Tyson tackled Percy into a massive hug. No kidding, that kid's momentum was pretty dang big, because the force of the tackle send Annabeth and Clarisse tumbling into the sand too. For a brief moment, they were trapped in a tangle of arms and legs. It took them a while to sort themselves out. Annabeth was never too good with knots.

Once they got to their feet, Annabeth brushed off the sand on her clothes and said, "So… what happened to you guys?"

Clarisse groaned as Tyson started babbling about what had happened. Apparently, they'd clung to the wreckage and floated for days. After fighting off a swarm of sharks, they arrived at the beach. They had just started dragging the wreckage in when Percy and Annabeth came sailing towards them.

Them arriving within moments of each other. The thing they were looking for must be the Golden Fleece. And the Golden Fleece… and Grover must have been somewhere on that island. Coincidences, much?

Annabeth shrugged. Coincidences did happen, after all.

Soon after that, Tyson trotted off to grab the fruits he gathered earlier. Clarisse removed a few crumpled lunch bags from the wreckage of her ship. Annabeth and Percy went back to the Queen Anne's Revenge to look around. It was unlikely that there'd be anything fresh on the ship, but even a moldy can of tuna was better than nothing at all.

Luck was on their side. When they regrouped, Tyson had an armful of berries, pineapples, and coconuts. Clarisse removed some surprisingly fresh sandwiches from the lunch bags. Percy and Annabeth contributed some fresh water and… believe it or not, they managed to find a bag of freaking Cheerios on the ship. How that box of cereal got there, Annabeth had no idea, but she wasn't going to turn some good old cereal down.

As they ate, Annabeth and Percy told their side of the story. Clarisse and Tyson weren't exactly the best audience, because Tyson kept on gasping and sobbing, and Clarisse kept on going, "I could have done that." And "How stupid are you guys?" but at least they got the talking done.

Once they were done, they packed up and headed deeper into the forest, with Percy leading the way. Annabeth really hoped that Percy knew where he was going.

 **το κυνήγι**

For the next half hour, they trekked deeper into the marshy woods. Towering trees loomed over them, throwing fragmented bits of light across the green forest floor. Birds and squirrels chattered above them, and vines hung down like streamers. Annabeth swore she saw a jaguar glaring at them from a distance, but when she blinked again, the cat was gone.

Percy and Tyson were chatting excitedly with each other, talking about whatever boys talked about. Annabeth really tried to start a conversation with Clarisse, but really, it wasn't working at all.

Annabeth: "So… anything to talk about?"

Clarisse: BLANK

Annabeth: "Clarisse?"

Clarisse: "Mind your own business."

Annabeth: "Ok."

Honestly, hearing the sound of her sneakers squish seemed far more exciting than talking to Clarisse at all.

Suddenly, the forest ended abruptly. For a split second, Annabeth was almost wondering where the forest went to. The mossy ground ended right next to a stone floor, slick with moisture. The trees were gone, replaced by a massive stone cave sealed by an even bigger rock in front of them.

"Where'd the forest go?" Percy asked, puzzled.

Annabeth shushed him. Her senses were on high alert. There was definitely something wrong. Naturally, the forest shouldn't end like that.

Then, they heard a creaking sound. Eerily, the rock covering the entrance began to roll open, rumbling and throwing smaller bits of rock everywhere.

"Quick!" Clarisse yelped. Tyson whimpered. They scuttled out of the way, huddling behind a large bush.

And they hid just in time too. They had barely positioned themselves when a giant… no, not a giant. They had barely positioned themselves when a cyclops appeared, yawning so loudly birds flew out of the forest and into the sky above them.

Annabeth felt her jaw dropping. The cyclops was huge, a wall of meaty muscle, dressed in nothing but a loincloth. Arms as big as boulders swung as he loped out of the cave. A milky, white eye was right smack in the center of its face, causing its nose and mouth to be squished down. The cyclops yawned again before walking with slow, heavy steps away, probably to find some food or something. Quickly, Annabeth glanced at Tyson. Tyson looked green, but determined. Ahead of them, the cave door was still opened…

"We have to get in there!" Clarisse said immediately. "It's where the Fleece is being kept. I just know it."

"Are you kidding me?" Tyson whimpered. "What if the Cyclops comes back? What if he locks that door? We'd be trapped with him inside! We're all going to die!"

Clarisse snorted. "Fine. Stay here, then, you big baby. I won't need you, anyway." With that, she picked up her spear and darted into the cave, faster than anyone would have thought.

"I guess we should probably follow her." Percy said unenthusiastically.

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. Together, the three of them charged into the cave.

 **το κυνήγι**

If Annabeth was in charge of Managing Health Conditions of Cyclops, the cyclops' cave would be the ultimate bad example. It reeked. It burned her nose. It stank to the high heavens. It smelled of unwashed bodies, sweat, and rotting meat. It was pure nasty.

Grover whimpered even more. Percy's nose was wrinkled in disgust.

"Where's Clarisse?" Annabeth asked.

Percy pointed towards a table, which Clarisse was climbing. Every piece of furniture there was in XXXL size. Hanging above the table was… the Golden Fleece.

For a brief moment, Annabeth was stunned. The Fleece was really pretty, actually. It was gold, but not a dazzling burn-your-eyes kind of gold. It was softer and milder, almost warm and fuzzy, if you think about it. It made Annabeth think about snuggling up in a fluffy blanket on winter nights and dozing off under the sun during summer.

Then, they heard a soft bleat. "Percy?"

"Grover!" Percy yelped. He ran forward, craning his neck desperately. "Where are you?"

"Here!" Grover called. Everyone looked up to see him hanging next to the Fleece, wrapped to his neck in rope, with so much hope on his face it nearly broke Annabeth's heart. Percy grinned and started moving forward, scrambling.

"Come on, Annabeth!" Percy called.

"Right!" Annabeth said quickly, snapping out of her daze. "Let's go."

They darted across the room, and started to climb a chair to reach the table. The surface was rough, and there were some points when Annabeth nearly lost her grip on the tiny footholds, but compared to the Lava Wall at Camp Half-Blood, this was nothing. In moments, they joined Clarisse on the top of the table, staring up blankly at the Fleece and Grover.

"We have to get them down," Percy said.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Clarisse grumbled. "Question is, how?"

Annabeth stared at the Fleece and Grover. How could they get them down? They'd have to be really tall in order to reach them, and how would they even carry the Fleece? It must be at least ten times their size, and much heavier.

Annabeth shook her head. First things first. They had to get the Fleece and Grover down from the hook that's dangling them from the ceiling.

"All right, guys." Annabeth took a deep breath. There was a massive spoon on the table, and she grabbed it, shifting it so that it faced the Fleece. Then, she perched herself daintily onto the handle. "I'm the lightest, so it'll be easier. Clarisse, you'll have to jump on the round part of the spoon, and yeah… you guys know the rest of the plan." Annabeth said. Clarisse would jump onto the circular part of the spoon, and Annabeth would be catapulted into the air. All Annabeth had to do would be to latch herself onto the Fleece, free Grover, and cut the hook on the Fleece. After that, they would have to start worrying about how they would carry the Fleece back.

"Three, two, one, GO!" Clarisse yelled gleefully, landing heavily onto the spoon. Annabeth's stomach lurched, and she was soon flying through the air.

Annabeth smacked right into the Fleece. It was actually quite comfortable, like swimming in a pile of soft wool. Annabeth paddled to the top of the Fleece, the wool holding steady under her feet.

Annabeth reached over to Grover, cutting the rope. Grover fell like a rock, but Percy caught him. Annabeth couldn't help but to smile as she saw them hugging without a care in the world. Then, she turned to the Fleece.

"One order of Golden Fleece, coming down!" Annabeth yelled. Immediately, the Fleece dropped onto the table with a muffled thump. Annabeth darted off quickly, watching as it shrinked into the size of a jacket right before their eyes. The problem about carrying it? Solved.

Percy whooped. Annabeth found the corners of her lips turning up. Even Clarisse was grinning. Tyson and Grover laughed. Everything seemed to be solved right before their eyes.

Then, they heard heavy footsteps, sounding painfully near…

"Time to run," Annabeth whispered.

And heroically… they ran.

 **το κυνήγι**

Slowly, the camp came into view. The lookout gave a sharp yelp as he saw them coming near, and blew a conch horn before scrambling off his perch and grinning widely.

Annabeth was stunned. Everything had just happened so quickly, it was almost scary. They had scrambled out of the cyclops' cave just in time, and as quickly as their feet could carry them, they sprinted back to the Queen Anne's Revenge and sailed as quickly as they could. The journey had taken them roughly a day, and they lived off some leftovers, but they hardly ran into any trouble at all. Soon, they tied the ship at the docks, walked a few miles, and were home, and deep inside, Annabeth kept on expecting some last minute tragedy to happen. Everything seemed a little too… easy. It was almost scary.

As they walked nearer, Annabeth saw that the lookout was none other than their favorite Travis Stoll. The boys rushed forward in a tangle of arms and legs, while Clarisse and Annabeth snorted loudly.

Soon, more campers poured out, laughing and grinning, eyes light with hope. They greeted the Questers, but their attention soon focused on the Fleece. They tripped over one another, trying to get a good look at it. Annabeth suddenly felt too conspicuous, the Fleece draped over her arm like a blanket.

"Campers!" Chrion called, trotting up.

Immediately, the camp fell respectfully silent.

Chiron came up to them. His wise, old face was filled with pride. "Good job. You have succeeded in the Quest, and you have saved the Camp. We thank you for that."

"S'nothing," Grover mumbled.

"It's all right," Tyson said.

"No problem." Percy answered.

"I could have done that easily," Clarisse scoffed.

Annabeth didn't say a thing.

"Now…" Chiron gestured the tree. "Annabeth, would you like to do the honors?"

Annabeth took a deep breath and walked towards Thalia's Tree. It was terrible. There were no more needles left, only bare branches that drooped. The trunk was rotting, and the smell was awful.

Annabeth carefully placed the Fleece over the strongest-looking branch, and prayed that it would work.

And it did.

The Fleece shimmered, and suddenly… it was almost like watching a dead man come back to life. The branches straightened, and rotting bark peeled away to reveal tender, new ones underneath. Light green needles sprouted, filling the place with the fresh scent of pine. Bit by bit, Thalia's Tree became whole again, glowing, as if celebrating the return. The campers cheered, and Annabeth felt a grin spreading across her face.

Then… there was a crack.

Everyone screamed.

A section of the bark tore open, splitting the tree into half. Something tumbled out of the tree. As quickly as it opened, the tree snapped shut, as if nothing had happened at all.

Annabeth suddenly felt herself in the front of the crowd. A huddled figure of a girl lay on the ground, wearing torn leather clothes, her black spiky hair wild around her face…

"Annabeth?" the girl croaked. Her voice was ragged and hoarse.

"Thalia?" Annabeth whispered.


	6. Anger

**Hi everyone... I know it's been a really long time, but well... I don't really have an excuse, actually. Either way, mind reviewing a little? Thanks. It doesn't take long...**

 **V**

Nico di Angelo remembered little to nothing before the white walls, metal furniture, hard beds, and pain.

He remembered that he had a family: a father, a mother, and an older sister. He remembered his father was a large, looming man with dark hair and eyes, but other than that, his memory was too blurry to depict the man clearly.

His mother was beautiful, and so was his sister- they looked very alike: with dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin, just like his if he was any healthier, or if he had seen the sun more often.

The lab wasn't really like a lab, in Nico's opinion. It was more like a prison, or a torture place where screams echoed down the hallway, and the scent of fear tainted the air. There were no windows, only white, metal walls and tiled floors.

He still remembered the day he came, albeit a little blurrily. His parents had brought him here. His sister- Bianca, he reminded himself, was there as well, but only he had stayed.

His parents had met up with the people in white lab coats, and they had exchanged something. Money, very possibly, and the lab coat people had led him away down a long, white metal hallway. He had been crying, Bianca as well, but his parents hadn't done anything. They led Bianca away.

Nico thought they would come and get him some time later. He thought it was a punishment for the vase he broke the day before he came, and it would end soon, but that did not happen.

They never came back.

That time, he was eight.

Two years had passed now, and he was ten.

They were the most miserable, painful years in Nico's short life.

And he hated it. He hated the people in white lab coats that acts professional and smart but only manages to cause pain for him, for all of them. He hated the metal walls that reverberates every single tiny sound. To top it all off, he hated his parents. Hated them with all his heart for sending him into this hellhole without a second thought.

After a while, he began to understand what was happening. He began to be able to decipher the lab-coats' meanings, and know what they want to do. After a while, he finally knew what the metal walls are for. They echo every sound and movement, especially the screams of agony, to cause terror, to prevent escape.

Because most of the people in the lab are dangerous.

After all, they are one of the Injected.

 **το κυνήγι**

Nico waited, his senses on high alert. Footsteps echoed down the metal hallway, stopping in front of his door. The more than familiar sound of gears turning and locks clicking echoed through the metal room, and his door slid open with a long creak. Nico was already waiting, and he was pulled out into the cold hallway. The thin cotton shirt and pants offered no protection for the freezing cold, and his bare foot had lost all feeling in his toes.

He was used to the cold.

As he passed, shadows writhed on the walls, beckoning towards him, trying to lure him into their cold arms.

He ignored them.

They arrived at a room at the end of the hall, where a familiar metal door was waiting.

The door was pushed open, and Nico gazed into the dreaded room, washed in pale, dim lights.

Taking a deep breath, the young Injected stepped into hell once more.

 **το κυνήγι**

Pain completely dominated his body. He ached to his bones. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Nico pushed himself up from the hard bed.

It wasn't that he was unfamiliar with the pain, but every time, it still hurts so much. It always seems to hurt more than he remembered.

The shadows writhed on the walls, growing, expanding, wrapping him in their comforting, silky coolness. If only he could rip this place apart.

How he had yearned for the sun! For nature, for life, anything but metal and shadows. But it was that very metal that suppresses their abilities, preventing them from escaping.

Nico stared at the iron walls opposite of him. He watched the shadows creep up them like vines, but unable to penetrate through it, not even able to squeeze through the cracks.

The shadows first began beckoning to him after he had stayed here for a month. He never found them frightening, only comforting. But they were so weak. There was nothing they could do other than creep along the iron walls and flicker from the suppression of magic. Before, Nico had imagined them tearing from the walls in sharp tendrils and ridding all those scientists for him, but after two years, that hope was lost. If only he had more power.

Growling, Nico slammed a fist into his hard bed. So frustrating, his life was. Those two cursed words: if only. If only, if only, if only. There was nothing else but 'if only' in his future.

Pushing the anger down, Nico stood from the bed and reached under it for his sack where the few items he had brought to the lab was stashed and hidden. He pulled out a locket that Bianca had given him before they left him here. Inside, was a picture of Bianca and him: just the two of them, smiling at the camera.

Sighing, Nico slipped the locket back into the pack and slid it under the bed again. However, as his hand withdrew, something cut a long scratch onto his arm that exploded in pain.

He hissed, clutching his injured arm, inspecting the wound.

That is, if you can even call it a wound.

It was merely a scratch, long, but not deep. It was red and itched uncomfortable, the skin where it was scratched had swollen lightly into a long bump. No blood was drawn.

Slightly miffed, Nico peered under the bed to search for the culprit. When he saw none, he reached inside tentatively and began groping around carefully.

After some searching, his fingers brushed something sharp. His breath hitched, and Nico began to inch his skinny body under the bed to inspect it.

The culprit was a long, relatively thick wire that had come loose in the years. One end was sharp, and Nico's eyes traveled up, up, to find it twisted around one leg of his bed and the frame. There were many more wires, but they were wounded tightly, and so he wouldn't need to worry about them.

Shrugging, Nico sat back down onto the bed, just as footsteps echoed down the hall outside his door. He tensed.

Luckily, the footsteps passed his door. A while later, he heard the whirring and creaking of a metal door that was not his opening and the soft pad of a pair of cold, bare feet joining the footsteps. Then after that, the screams began.

Pleading joined with the screams, and Nico couldn't help but cover his ears to try and block the horrible sound out. His horror and fear was there as usual, but with it was a trace of anger that flared and grew as the screams became hoarse and it hitched with sobs.

Those scientists. Those damned scientists…

The anger was a throb of energy inside him, humming and trembling for release. His arm gave a throb along with his pulsing emotions, and at the sight of it, Nico's mind drifted to the sharp wire beneath his bed.

A smile crept up his face.

 **το κυνήγι**

It took several days, but in the end, he managed to release the wire, then straighten and twist into something that resembled a sword or spear and could be concealed easily. Now all he needed to do it wait, and ensure that he has enough courage to do what he was planning to do.

Another few days of anxiousness later, his luck struck. A little over a week had passed, and it was his turn again.

As usual, there were the turning, the clicking, and the long creak.

Unlike before, Nico was waiting for them outside as the door opened.

He had been an idiot not to notice before.

His powers were restricted by the iron around him. In their rooms, everything was iron, the floors, the walls… but in the hallways, though the wall remained iron, the ground was tiles. He had never tried it before, but perhaps…

The scientists beckoned to him with their gloved hands, to lead him to the heart of the lab where his screams would reverberate through the metal.

With the barest of hesitation, Nico raised a hand, and his shadows crawled to the ground, gathered, and shot from the tiles through the gut of one scientist.

 **το κυνήγι**

The shadows dyed the white tiles black wherever they crept, the darkness hiding the splatters of dark blood on the ground, though they shied away from the walls, and so the blood couldn't be concealed there. Nico was exhausted from the few minutes of controlling the shadows, but in that few minutes, he had sprinted towards the exit, and now, he could see it.

With one last burst of energy, his shadows tore the door from its hinges, and he erupted into freedom.

The sun was blinding, but comfortingly warm. His shadows shrank from the light. The air had never seemed so fresh, the world never so free.

Despite the sunshine, the lack of iron gave Nico the sudden feeling of a burden being lifted from his shoulder. His powers seem to soar in the freedom, despite the sunshine, and a surge of energy powered his mind. However, physically, his body was still exhausted.

Behind him were shouts of alarm and sounds of rushing people.

Nico began to stumble towards the forest beyond, where he knew the shadows would protect him.

Just as the scientists appeared in the doorway, wielding guns, Nico made it to the coolness under the canopy of thick trees. Just as several of them pointed their weapons at him, his eyes slid shut and his legs gave way. Before any of the bullets reached the place he had crumpled to, Nico di Angelo had sank into the shadows, allowing them to bring him somewhere, anywhere: it didn't matter.

After all in the end, he was still an Injected.

And he will never have a place in this world.

 **το κυνήγι**

The first thing that registered in his brain was the noise. The sounds of people shouting, of commands being thrown out. Next was the movement. He realized that he was lying on something soft, and that something was being wheeled or carried towards somewhere. When that thought registered, his eyes snapped open in panic.

However, he did not find himself back in the suffocating metal lab. He was in a place that seemed to be underground, but at the same time, was almost as bright as the outside. The 'ceiling' almost seemed transparent.

 _'Magic,'_ was his first thought.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake!" a voice exclaimed, and Nico turned his head slightly to locate the source of the voice. However, that simple movement casted black dots swimming into his vision and pain flared in his head, so he stopped.

"Don't worry," the voice continued, "you're in safe hands. We'll just have to patch you up a little bit…"

The voice trailed off as another person called, "Will! They're back!"

Nico didn't know who was 'they', but suddenly, excitement buzzed in the air.

"Did they succeed?" Will asked.

"Yes!"

And then they whooped, though Nico still had no idea what was happening.

So gingerly he turned to the other person next to him and croaked, "What?"

The girl next to him shook her head, though a smile was stretching her face as well. "Ignore them: they're overreacting."

Nico decided not to inquire deeper and instead asked, "Where am I?"

The girl's smile turned from joyful to comforting. "Don't worry. You're with us."

His puzzled expression made her laugh.

"Welcome to the Hunted."


	7. Guilt

**VI**

That year, Bianca was ten.

She remembered everything clear as day, and the guilt had haunted her ever since. If only she had went after her brother, if only she had convinced her parents to try another way to get money…

If only, if only, if only.

Perhaps because she was too young, and she didn't know what was going on…

That wasn't an excuse for herself. She was a bright girl- she knew that at a young age, and she worked hard to prove it.

Nico, however, did not show as much talent as she did, and that was what prompted her parents to sell him to the Laboratory when their money supplies began to run low. The money they received could last them for years if they continued their frugal lifestyle, but no amount of money could buy away the guilt eating away Bianca's heart.

If only she hadn't worked so hard to make herself near perfect, if only…

She hated those two words. They never did anything, never helped her accomplish anything.

So she stopped wishing, and decided to act.

The house was so quiet after Nico left, though her parents probably were glad of the newfound silence. They were probably glad they could now sell Nico's clothes and furniture and get more money for themselves.

Bianca was sick of it.

One night, several months after Nico… left, Bianca was lying in bed, staring up at the cracked paint on the low ceiling, trying to sleep as her parents argued just outside her door.

It was that night did she decide that she's had enough.

There wasn't much to bring, wasn't much to do. She has no regrets doing it.

So with one hand clutching a small sack of clothes, bundled in a few jackets, Bianca di Angelo clambered silently out her window and into the howling storm, walked into the distance, allowing the wind to sweep all signs of her existence away.

She never looked back.

It was reckless and stupid and inconsiderate of her, however. It had been nearing winter, and she never knew how harsh the season could be until it hit her one day.

The next thing she knew, her lips were blue, her body stiff, and she could barely open her eyes. The cold was suffocating, she hated the cold.

Then after a while of suffering the freezing bite, it was as if a switch was flicked. Bianca no longer seemed to be able to feel the coldness. In fact, the white winter seemed to be beckoning to her, drawing her close into its embrace…

She closed her eyes.

 **το κυνήγι**

The first thing that registered in her brain was the noise. The sounds of people's murmuring, the clanking of metal. Next, was the softness. She realized that she was lying on a bed. A very soft bed, softer than anything she had slept on before. For a moment, she was content to just lie there and enjoy, before the memories caught up and her eyes snapped open.

She was not home, as she had feared for a moment, but she wasn't outside in the wilderness either. She found herself in a tent of some sort, lying on several thick blankets piled together that she had made her mistaken it as a bed. Around her was groups of girls, all wearing silver parkas and all have weapons strapped somewhere on their bodies.

Bianca's heart began to pound. Who were these people?

One girl with ginger hair noticed her first. "Oh, thank goodness you're awake!" she exclaimed. "We were so worried when we found you half frozen in the snow. You were barely breathing!"

"Where- Where am I?" Bianca croaked.

"Don't worry, you're with us," the girl gaze her a comforting smile.

Bianca's confused expression made her smile even wider.

"We're the Hunters. Care to join?"

 **το κυνήγι**

"Hey, Bianca!" somebody called her. Bianca turned to find Naomi strolling towards her, hands resting on the hilts of the hunting knives strapped to her belt.

"Hi Naomi," she greeted. The elder hunter plopped down next to where Bianca was cleaning her own set of knives.

"I have good news," Bianca's friend said. "Remember the Camp you were so interested in? Well, Lieutenant had decided that we should pay another visit there. It's about time."

Bianca paused a little. "When will we be going?"

"Tomorrow."

Bianca grinned. Ever since she had heard about the Camp after joining the Hunters one and a half years ago, there was something about the place that intrigued her. She felt as if she had to go there and finally, her chance is coming. Bianca couldn't help but wonder if it will be as interesting as the Hunters that had been there had described.

The excitement she felt could barely be contained.

Even though she doesn't even know why she should be excited.

 **το κυνήγι**

The Camp was underground, as she had heard. People had come to welcome them, but the amount of boys in the group was repulsing.

They first went to the cabin reserved for the Hunters to unpack and settle down before going outside for dinner.

As she followed her other friends towards the Dining Pavilion, she saw a blonde boy showing a dark haired boy around. The newcomer was young, maybe around ten, and he was looking around with the same slight amazement Bianca had felt when she had just arrived.

"Who are them?" she heard the boy ask as he caught sight of the group of girls.

"The Hunters," the older blonde boy answered. "They come to visit every now and then. You could say they're part of us, a branching group."

Despite feeling a little offended at being called a 'branching group', Bianca froze.

So did the little boy as his eyes met hers.

Because after two years of loneliness, pain, and guilt, Bianca had finally found Nico.

And for the first time in a very long time, Bianca cried.

 **Please Review!**


	8. Gone

**Hello, everyone! Here's the next chapter. Don't forget to review! Reviews make us very happy. XD**

 **VII**

They didn't hesitate. They didn't care that everyone was watching them. Nico and Bianca flew into each other's arms, tears soaking into their clothes as the laughed and cried.

"Bianca?" Nico whispered.

"Yeah," Bianca said weakly, squeezing Nico even tighter. The campers and Hunters around them formed a loose ring. None of them interfered. Bianca did tell a few of the Hunters about her brother, and maybe the campers were quick to understand that they were experiencing a private family moment or something.

After what seemed like eternity, finally, Zoe tapped Bianca's shoulder.

"Are you done?" Zoe asked kindly.

Numbly, Bianca nodded, and stepped back. Nico was much taller, but so much skinnier and paler. Thank goodness he found the camp, where he could regain his health and be happier.

"So…" Zoe said. "Well, we're all here now. Why don't we start eating, and... fill each other out on our stories?"

Chuckles spread through the crowd, as everyone took a seat. Zoe and a few others sat with the leaders of the Camp, while the rest of the Hunters sat on one table, chatting with the girls and glaring at any boy who even glanced at them. Bianca sat with Nico and a few of Nico's friends. In a way, Bianca felt awkward and fidgety with all the boys sitting around her, but with Nico around… it was bearable.

Soon, platters of steaming food were passed around. With the Hunters, Bianca survived on rations and packets of vitamin mush that tasted awful. With the campers… Bianca hated to admit it, but the food was amazing. Nico bit hungrily into a burger, while Bianca attacked a plate of ravioli. It was delicious.

"What happened after Mom and Dad…?" Bianca asked hesitantly as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

Nico frowned. The dark look in his eye did not belong to a ten-year-old boy. "I… I got experimented on."

The food suddenly sat heavily on Bianca's stomach. While she had been running around with the Hunters, Nico was being subjected to horrible tortures. She had seen the 'experiments gone wrong' of the Giants. If Nico had been in that place…

"But I'm all right, though!" Nico added hastily. "I mean, being an Injected is kind of cool. I mean, I get lots of powers other people don't have…"

"Really?" Bianca forced herself to smile brightly. "Like what?"

Nico grinned and snapped his fingers. The shadows danced along the walls, causing a girl to squeal and spill a glass of water all over herself. Nico was chortling, and even Bianca managed to squeeze out a quick laugh.

"That's cool," Bianca said.

"I know, right?" Nico grinned.

Bianca smiled. She was so scared that Nico would be cold and indifferent and harmed beyond repair, but now… Bianca was just so happy and relieved. Despite everything, Nico was still the same Nico. With her, they'd be even happier. Their parents were gone, and they would never have to put up with their mistreatment ever again. Yes, life as a fugitive would be hard, but they had each other. And that was all they needed.

Suddenly, a boy with ruffled dark hair and sea green eyes slid over, followed by a girl with blond hair and grey eyes.

"Bianca, that's Percy and Annabeth," Nico introduced. Bianca shook hands with Annabeth, and gave a practiced, polite smile to Percy.

"Hey," Percy said easily. "So… you're Nico's sister?"

"Yes," Bianca said stiffly.

"Great!" Percy grinned, and ruffled Nico's hair. "We're going on a raid to get the pills. You know, how Injecteds need the pills to survive? We're going to break into a small Giants facility to grab a few boxes. Want to come with us?"

"Yep!" Nico piped.

"No, not you!" Percy and Bianca said at the same time.

"Aw…" Nico protested, but Bianca was nodding. Why not? After all, Nico needed the pills. She might as well get it for him.

"Awesome," Percy said. "Thalia, Grover, Zoe, and I will also be going. It'll be a quick raid, get in, get out. We'll tell you more about it tomorrow. Meet us at the Cafeteria at five, tomorrow morning, all right?"

"Got it," Bianca said.

Percy flashed her a thumbs-up before darting off.

το κυνήγι

The next morning, Bianca was the first to get up. The Hunters usually woke pretty early, but Bianca woke even earlier. She was groping for her clothes at four, and once she was done showering, dressing, and brushing her teeth, it was only four ten. Silently, Bianca padded down the halls and got into the cafeteria, taking a seat and nibbling on an apple while she waited for the rest.

At four fifteen, Zoe and Thalia arrived, sipping mugs of coffee. They chatted for a while, but at four thirty, Percy stumbled sleepily in, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. And as the second the hands of the clock slipped past five, Grover came dashing in, his clothes rumpled, his hooves clopping anxiously, and chewing a tin can.

"Ready to go?" Percy asked, slinging on his backpack. Wordlessly, everyone strapped on their weapons and headed out.

Percy had a minivan prepared for them. As he drove, Grover sat on the shotgun, leaving Thalia, Zoe, and Bianca sitting in the back. Inwardly, Bianca was relieved. Thank goodness she didn't have to sit with Percy. Sitting with a boy for an hour was probably torture.

"How's Nico?" Zoe asked quietly.

"He's good," Bianca answered. Beside her, Thalia smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that." Zoe said.

There was a moment of silence.

"You know… Nico can't come with us…" Zoe said.

Bianca winced. "I know."

"He'll have to stay in the camp." Zoe said.

"I know," Bianca said. She hated the thought of being away from Nico, but… at least she would still get to visit him once in a while. Besides, Nico was safe at camp. There are at least fifty strong campers taking care of him. He would be all right.

Suddenly, the van jerked to a halt.

"We're here!" Grover called.

"Finally!" Thalia breathed, opening the door and slipping out. Squinting, Bianca hopped out after her. How long had they been driving for? An hour? Two hours? The sun was so bright it hurt her eyes. They were standing in a small grove of trees. Ahead of them was a long concrete road, and a few meters away from the road was a massive steel structure. Smoke billowed from chimneys, and even from the distance, Bianca could year yelps and screams of pain. Nico had to endure this for so long…

"All right. Here's the plan." Thalia said. "Percy and I will distract the Giants, while the rest of you guys get the Pills. Grover will lead you to the storage room. Got it?"

"Got it," Bianca said. "But how…?"

"Like this," Percy said easily. He drew his sword, yelled, and charged head on towards the Headquarters.

το κυνήγι

Cursing, Thalia took off after Percy. For a brief moment, Grover, Zoe, and Bianca just stood there, staring.

"Well, I guess we'd better get going!" Grover said lightly before clopping off. Wordlessly, Zoe and Bianca followed.

Ahead of them, they heard shouts of alarm as water burst through the windows. The sky rumbled, and a bolt of lightning struck down. Arcs of electricity rippled through the structure, followed by the stench of smoke and charred plastic. Once in a while, they also heard whoops.

Grover beckoned them into a small back door, snapping the locks open easily. He played a quick tune on his pipes, and immediately, they were surrounded by a flickering transparent globe.

"What is this for?" Bianca asked.

"It's to protect us from the electricity and water and stuff." Grover answered.

"So it's bulletproof?" Bianca said hopefully.

"Nah," Grover shook his head. "It's just immune to Percy's and Thalia's powers."

Bianca sighed sadly. Bulletproof things always made her feel safer.

Quietly, they padded down a few more halls. Apart from scaring an unfortunate mailman half to death, they didn't meet anyone. Grover stopped at a room, and led them inside.

The room was more of a storage room than anything else. The walls and floor were painted in a simple shade of white, and shelves dominated most of the room. Every shelf had different labels. Bianca paused to read one… then she quickly turned away, her stomach churning.

"Here," Grover was at the last shelf, shoving little white boxes into a canvas sack. Zoe followed suit, and Bianca tossed as many as she could into her backpack. "That should last us for a few months."

Quickly, they filled their packs and pockets. Bianca literally had to wrestle her backpack zipper. Once they had their packs slung over their shoulders, Bianca stifled a giggle. They looked so funny, almost like hunchbacks.

"Let's get out of here," Zoe said.

But that was when everything went horribly wrong.

A whirring noise filled the room. Immediately, Grover raised his cudgel. Zoe and Bianca nocked their arrows and moved back to back. Zoe jerked her head towards the exit, and carefully, they made their way out.

Lights flickered on and off. The room seemed to become colder. Every shelf seemed to be the perfect hiding spot for some monster.

Suddenly, a fist burst through a shelf, bottles of medicine crashing musically down onto the floor. Grover screamed. Zoe fired an arrow. Bianca just watched mutely. Her mouth was open, but no sound came out.

The hand was made of metal. It wriggled and writhed horribly, groping around. The arrow stuck grotesquely from its forearm. A high-pitched whine came from the other side. And as the hand opened slightly, Bianca caught a glimpse of a blank black eye fused into the hand, rolling around frantically…

"Go, go, go!" Zoe yelled.

No one needed to be told twice. They tore down the aisles, headed towards the exit. The creature shrieked, and something crashed behind them. Bianca looked back, and wished she hadn't.

It was a monster. It was at least eight feet tall, shaped like a human. There were random patches of skin, but it was all partially fused with metal. Wires and metal rods were scattered all over its form, wriggling around like centipedes. Its face… oh, its face… there were no eyes, no ears, nothing. There was only one big mouth, lined with rows and rows of teeth. And ridiculously enough, a piteous whine came from it, grating against their ears.

The monster moved with remarkable speed, jabbing and snatching. Bianca whirled around and fired an arrow, but there was no difference. The monster didn't slow down.

Grover reached the door, and tore at it.

"It's locked!" Grover wailed.

Zoe swore. Bianca swallowed. How did the door get locked?

Wordlessly, the three of them formed a ragged triangle, and fought.

Grover played tunes on his reed pipes. Water gushed in and rose into a small wave, slapping at the monster, but the monster was probably waterproof. Zoe fired so many arrows, the monster looked like a porcupine, but the monster was probably immune to pain, because it didn't slow.

Bianca looked around frantically. And then… she saw wires. They were torn, but she could still see bits of electricity flickering…

"Work on the door! I'll distract it!" Bianca yelled.

"No…" Zoe started, but Bianca cut her off. "GO!"

Zoe blinked in surprise, but she made her way to the back door with Grover.

Bianca took a deep breath. She would survive this. She would see Nico again.

Bianca held a fistful of wires, and braced herself.

"Hey!" Bianca yelled.

The monster turned to look at her.

"Come here, you bastard!" Bianca shouted.

The monster whined again, and lumbered over. It definitely looked angrier than before.

This was it. Bianca took a deep breath, tightened her grip, and ran towards the monster. Seconds before impact, Bianca shoved the wires straight into the monster.

The monster was still wet from Grover's water attacks. The electricity arced across the monster's body, rippling inside, and Bianca staggered free. Her arms felt numb. Her entire body felt numb. She smelled burning flesh. Was this supposed to happen?

The monster whimpered. The monster whined. Now charred and broken, the monster died.

And so did Bianca.

το κυνήγι

Throughout the entire ride home, Percy was numb. Grover was sobbing, and Zoe was staring blankly out the window. Thalia drove silently.

Grover and Zoe had broken down the door. As they looked back for Bianca, they found the charred form of the monster, and only a few feet away, Bianca. Moments later, Percy and Thalia ran up, still buzzing from their rush, but the second they saw Bianca…

They found some cloth and wrapped Bianca up. They laid her gently down in the trunk. Percy felt terrible as he closed the trunk door.

The long ride seemed to drag on forever. And no one spoke a word.

When they got back to camp, the campers were waiting for them, cheerful and waiting eagerly for a new story. Their faces were all so blissfully unsuspecting. None of them knew…

Then someone threw the bomb. "Where's Bianca?"

Percy looked down to see Nico staring at him with big eyes. Nico definitely needed the Pills. His skin was yellowish, and his face was flushed with fever.

Suddenly, everyone was looking at him.

"She's not coming back." Percy managed.

The crowd seemed to still. Then one by one, the campers trailed away, until there were only the questers, Annabeth, Chiron, and Nico.

"Wait… you mean she left with the Hunters early?" Nico's voice became higher and thinner.

"No," Percy croaked. "She's…" He couldn't say the word.

"No," Nico's eyes filled with hears. "No!"

"Y-yeah," Percy whispered. He grabbed a small box of Pills. "Nico… Bianca left these for you. You're going to need them soon…"

"No!" Nico screamed. "She died for me, didn't she? She died to get the stupid Pills because I needed it. But… you should have watched out for her! You should have been with her! You should have protected her!"

The last words were like a slap in the face. Percy felt his eyes burning.

"I…" Percy croaked.

"I hate you!" Nico screamed, and ran away.


	9. Cyborg

**VIII**

Percy did not need any more stress. He was barely fifteen, and already he was losing sleep and growing gray hairs. At least, he believed he was, because with everything on his plate…

"You okay?" Annabeth asked, sliding onto the bench beside him.

"Yeah…" he groaned. He couldn't help but be glad that the Hunters had left. They usually caused fights in Camp, and breaking them up weren't easy at all. However, it didn't help that Nico had disappeared. After that little explosion, he had ran away, and nobody saw him again. They tried to track him with both magic and technology, but all attempts were proven fruitless.

Then Percy recalled what they had overheard on that cruise ship when they passed Luke. He was planning to destroy Camp. If that was going to happen, they would have to be prepared.

Still thinking, Percy excused himself and headed towards Cabin Nine.

Charles Beckondorf was the head counselor of Cabin Nine, and he's the best tinkerer there was in Camp. He could make just about anything, no matter how wild it might seem to be.

As usual, Percy found the Dark-skinned Hunted hunched over some complicated gadget. Sensing him, he turned and smiled as a greeting.

"Hey, Beckondorf," Percy greeted back.

Beckondorf placed the thing he was working on onto the worktable in front of him and stood. He led Percy to one corner of the room.

"So I've been experimenting on some new ideas," he introduced, gesturing at a crate of metal gadgets, most of which Percy couldn't recognize. "Of course, there's the usual in here: gas bombs, grenades, normal and enhanced weapons… but I've gotten some new ideas. For example, here's one," he picked something up from the heap of metal. It was a round disc with a few small buttons on the sides, color coded by several different-colored stickers. "This is kind of like a spying and tracking device. It's voice-commanded, and you just have to say the name of a place, loud and clear, and it will show you. Like this." Beckondorf demonstrated, holding the disc in front of him and saying, "The Eiffel Tower!", pronouncing each syllable crisply. On the smooth surface of the bronze disc, an image rippled into focus. It was the Eiffel Tower. People toured around the building, taking pictures, strolling about.

"Whoa." Percy was impressed. "It certainly makes things easier."

"It can track people as well," Beckondorf informed him. "Except you have to say the person's name, age, and blood type. Why blood type? I have no idea." Then, he proceeded to explain the little buttons on the disc's sides.

Percy nodded. He tried to remember everything Beckondorf said so he could report to Chiron afterwards, but all the information was getting a little overwhelming.

"Now, there's one more thing I'd like to show you." Beckondorf placed the disc back into the crate and took out something else. It was a little metal sphere that seemed to be made of hundreds and millions of thin strips of metal overlapping each other to form a sturdy ball. On the top of the sphere was a small line that reminded Percy of a bomb.

As if reading his mind, Beckondorf said, "It's similar to a bomb. More like a grenade, to be more specific, except it's much more dangerous. After you pull this little thing here out," he pointed at the short line, "the sphere will explode in approximately three seconds, so you have to move fast, throw quickly. It's not like a normal grenade, though."

Percy nodded once more. Of course it wouldn't be. Why else would Beckondorf be showing this to him?

"When the sphere explodes, instead of fire and smoke and shards of metal, the metal strips will unravel, and attack."

"I see," Percy said thoughtfully, even though questions were floating around in his head. What if the tendrils attacked you instead of the enemy?

He was about to voice his question when Beckondorf spoke, "Also, don't worry, the tendrils will always attack your enemies. It's programmed that way."

"Programmed that way." Percy was even more impressed. It must've taken forever to make it, programming and all the other stuff he'll never understand.

"Yes," Beckondork confirmed. He held up the sphere, as if going to demonstrate its power. "Like this." And he pulled off the line.

For a second, Percy was frozen. His mind was unable to register what had happened. He was only able to watch as the sphere dropped to the ground and Beckondorf backed away.

 _One… Two… Three._

The sphere exploded. Tendrils of thin, deadly blades cut through the air with a shrill whistling sound, and Percy could only thanks to his trained instincts when he found that his body had acted on its own accord, pulling out his sword and defending himself.

There were approximately five tendrils in all, but each seemed infinitely long. Even though he cut them in half- which was easy considering how thin they were- they continued to grow, swiping through the air towards him. The tendrils might be flimsy, but they weren't blunt. They were still blades, and soon, Percy had small cuts all over him. Luckily for him, the sphere finally unraveled completely, revealing a tiny core the size of his thumbnail, and the shortened strips of metal fell limp to the ground, no longer able to do anything.

Percy was surrounded by strips of thin blades, and he was cautious as he stepped out, mind still reeling. What had happened? Beckondorf had disappeared after throwing the sphere at him. Percy frowned slightly, and could feel his mind slumping in exhaustion. The situation was getting more and more out of hand.

He was just about to head towards the Big House to report to Chiron when the screaming began.

Percy spun around, and was met by billowing mist. He immediately recognized it as the gas from the gas bombs. Through the gas were dark silhouettes of people stumbling around. Many people stumbled from the gray substance, coughing, eyes watering.

What was happening?

People were shouting in alarm, panicking.

The gas began to clear, and through the haze, Percy saw two glowing red dots. They moved with a faraway silhouette, like eyes. Eyes of those robots Cabin Nine often created. Bright, constant, controlled…

Must be a monster, Percy thought immediately. A monster has breached their Camp defenses and invaded Camp.

However, as the mist dissipated and the 'monster' came into view, Percy realized that he was wrong. Very, very wrong.

The two glowing red eyes did not belong to a haywire robot or a mechanic monster sent by the Titans.

They belonged to Beckondorf.

Beckondorf was a cyborg. And he has gone haywire.

 **το κυνήγι**

Percy didn't know what to do. Should he attack Beckondorf? Try to disable him- maybe even kill him? It was difficult to decide.

"Percy!" somebody shouted his name, and Percy turned to see Annabeth with a determined expression on her face. She pointed at Beckondorf, nodded, and charged.

Percy had no choice but to follow.

It was Annabeth, he reassured himself. Annabeth always has a plan. Just go with the flow.

"Knock him out," Annabeth commanded him when they got close enough to communicate normally.

"How?" Percy wanted to ask. Beckondorf looked pretty dangerous right now, with all the dangerous weapons around him, but Annabeth was already gone.

Shrugging, Percy ran towards Beckondorf, who, at that moment, hurled something him. He managed to dodge it, but the resulting explosion behind him blew him off his feet and shot him forward several meters. Percy landed painfully on his back, his breath knocked out of his lungs.

Beckondorf loomed over him with a spear in his hand. It seems as if he had taken all the weapons in the weapon crate. He positioned the spear over Percy's heart, hands steady, expression blank, eyes glowing with discord.

Then suddenly, Annabeth appeared behind him, slashing her dagger towards his arm. But when it cut through his skin, she was met by a clang of metal.

The blonde girl blinked, seeming vaguely surprised, before Beckondorf swung his arm to one side, knocking Ananbeth several meters down the hill, where she rolled before stopping. She didn't move.

Once again, Beckondorf angled the spear over Percy, but during the time Beckondorf was fending off Annabeth, he had caught his breath once more, and rolled away before the cyborg could react.

Percy leapt back before attacking, each time met by the metal under Beckondorf's skin. How do you kill a cyborg? No one had ever told him before. He had heard of them before, but had never actually encountered one before now.

Beckondorf threw one of the tendril bombs at him, and with the flat of his sword, Percy hit it the best he could- baseball style- before the bomb exploded. Tendrils erupted in the air, and shot towards every direction, since it did not seem to have a focused enemy group. Percy cut off a few legs, then attacked Beckondorf again.

At that moment, he heard Annabeth shout, her voice hoarse, "The stomach, Percy! The stomach is weak!"

The stomach. All he had to do was slice open the stomach.

Easier said than done.

Percy continued to fight, doing the best he could to disarm the cyborg. He was tiring quickly, unlike Beckondorf, and he knew he had to get this over as quickly as he could if he wanted to win this battle.

From the distance, Annabeth hurled her dagger with all her strength and her sharp accuracy. Beckondorf didn't notice the knife until it knocked into his temple. It did not pierce through him or damage him much, but it distracted him.

And that was all Percy needed.

With one mighty swipe, using both hands and all his force, Percy cut a path through Beckondorf's stomach.

The cyborg jarred, before the top half of his body toppled back, ripping his torso apart.

Wires sparked. There was a hiss of smoke. Fire flared, then shut off.

Beckondorf's body fell to one side, and all was still once more.

After a few moments, Percy gingerly made his way to Beckondorf's body, cautious and ready. Annabeth was right behind him.

They checked his injury, they tugged on the wires. He didn't react.

"Oh my gods," somebody yelped behind him. A crowd was beginning to form. Muttering filled the air.

Then someone shouted, "Silena! Get Silena!"

Yes, Percy agreed silently. Silena was Beckondorf's girlfriend: she had to know something.

A few kids from Cabin Nine were examining Beckondorf's remains with trembling horror. Their counselor was a cyborg, and they had never known.

Then, there was a shout.

"Silena!"

Heads turned as a girl from Cabin Ten- Silena's cabin- stumbled out from her cabin and ran up the hill.

"Silena!" she was shouting. "Silena is gone! Her possessions, everything…" she trailed into a sob.

Percy felt numb. Frozen. The situation was getting out of hand. It was too insane.

First Luke, then Beckondorf, and now… Silena has disappeared. The same way Luke did.

Silena has betrayed them.

 **Reviews are appreciated.**


	10. Silence

**IX**

Tensions were high around Camp. Everything seemed suffocating, muted, as if everyone was moving and talking underwater.

Ever since Silena's betrayal, everyone's spirits seemed down. More and more Campers disappeared, vanishing without a trace to join the other side- the side that obviously has the winning hand.

The person who seemed the most frustrated was Clarisse La Rue, and people could often hear her storming inside her cabin. She complained, she raged, but she never left, and Percy felt immensely grateful for it. They were losing power, their army weakening.

But it's not just that.

Because in the end, they were just so, so tired. Tired of the betrayals, tired of the fighting; tired of the plotting, tired of the hiding. They were tired of this life, with all the spies and technology and danger and needs for survival. They were exhausted.

Days passed.

Weeks.

Percy called his mom, just for the sake of hearing her voice, not caring that the government might be eavesdropping on the telephone lines.

The government. Working with the Titans. The government was working with a bunch of power hungry villains.

This world is rotting. It's completely rotten, down to the very core.

The counselors met up again to form other backup plans and further strategize. Even Annabeth seemed hazy, half awake, not shooting out brilliant ideas as per usual.

The meeting made little progress.

They slept. They ate. They trained. They planned.

Nothing happened.

Weeks passed.

A month.

It was mid-August, nearing Percy's birthday. He'll become sixteen soon, that is, if he survives until then.

Three more days until his birthday.

Two more days before he turns sixteen.

One more-

And then he felt it.

While the world had seemed muted before, now it's as if somebody had pressed the 'pause' button. Everything went silent.

Tensions rose, adrenaline filled Percy's veins.

"Gear up!" he shouted, back on commanding. Annabeth was right beside him, strapping on weapons, armor, shouting out orders to others.

The Camp woke up into activity. Noise felt the air, blocking out the hollow silence that had been caused by the enemy. Magic or technology, Percy had no idea, and it didn't matter. The outside world was asleep. If they were to fight, it'd be now.

The Hunted filed out.

The night air was chill, and mist had risen from the damp ground. The moon illuminated the land, casting everything into a beautiful, silvery light. Stars accompanied their cold mother, twinkling merrily, blinking brightly. The night world seemed to be a world from a dream, mysterious, beautiful…

From the distance, blinking like pairs of bloodthirsty stars, were eyes, glowing in the darkness, hazy behind the mist. Shadows of silhouettes invaded the peace. The Hunted moved forward as well, as one, to meet their enemy.

Everything was still silent, but not muted as it had been before. It was a tense, quivering silence. Both sides remained frozen.

Then, the Titan army rippled, and a path was formed for one person. And the one person who stalked up to the front of the enemy army was none other than Luke.

He had a proud smirk on his face, he held himself up like a king.

A ripple of unease reverberated through the Hunted at the sight of him. Hostility bloomed. And yet, no one spoke a single word, as if everyone was afraid of breaking this silence.

In the end, Luke was the most courageous.

The former Hunted raised a hand, pointing a finger at his former comrades. His command echoed through the valley.

"Attack."

 **το κυνήγι**

The silence shattered like glass.

With ear-piercing battle cries, every one of them rushed into the battle.

Percy's mind went blank. His body moved with its own accord, with skills that had been driven into his muscles after years of practice and training. The small part of his mind that was still functioning noticed other Campers around him. Annabeth was somewhere on his right, slipping through the enemy ranks like a ghost and stabbing them through their armor with the skill and precision of any child in Cabin Six. He heard Clarisse bellow as she fought, her size and power cutting through the monsters and humans like they were stalks of wheat.

Behind them, there was a deafening _Boom!_ as a few Hunted from Cabin Nine fired their cannons towards the back of their enemies' ranks, where their own soldiers had not yet reached. Bodies went up into flame, filling the air with an acrid smoke that smelt of burnt flesh and melting metal.

Where was Luke? Percy wondered. The traitor had seemed to disappear right after he triggered the war, and he was nowhere in sight.

The sounds of cannons were almost constant in the background, and Percy felt like he was going deaf. But then, something roared.

The sound covered the cannons, unbelievably enough, and it rattled Percy to his core. It was a deep, murderous sound, bloodthirsty and hungry. The roar rolled through the valley, seemingly echoing several times, before the battlefield fell silent. Everyone seemed to have frozen.

Then, rising from behind the enemies' endless ranks, a dragon- a literal dragon, just without wings, appeared majestically, fire streaming from its gaping jaws, poison dripping like saliva. It started forward, most making way for it, while some unfortunate souls were trampled. Once again, it roared, but this time, another cry joined its.

Clarisse, in all her gore and glory, charged the dragon (or was it a drakon? Percy had no idea) with her electric spear cackling blue. She dodged a pillar of flame, then ducked under the monster, disappearing from sight for a moment. Very soon, she appeared again, but now, the counselor of Cabin Five was clambering up the drakon's back, stabbing her spear through its thick armor to help her climb.

The fighting had started again, but this time it was more panicked, more frenzied. Percy was beginning to tire; it was difficult for him to keep up. In the distance, the drakon continued to roar. Cannons started again, but now, they didn't seem as loud. Percy sliced, he fought, he searched…

His eyes landed on the drakon, which was furiously swinging its tail from side to side. And clinging desperately onto the chinks between the drakon's protective armor, was Clarisse.

Percy watched as if in slow motion as Clarisse's grasp finally failed her, and she sailed through the air, narrowly missing a spat of fire. She slammed painfully onto the ground. Percy winced. He could almost hear the crack.

The drakon towered over the warrior. Its poison saliva sizzled as it came in contact with the ground, dangerously close to Clarisse's paralyzed figure.

"Clarisse!" Percy bellowed, beginning to charge and hack his way towards her.

But someone reached her before him.

Another person, someone he did not recognize at the moment, was suddenly in front of the drakon, shielding Clarisse's body with his own. The person brandished his own spear, brought it back, and let it fly, arching through the air with perfect precision, stabbing the drakon right through one eye.

The drakon roared in pain, stumbling back and shaking its head, trying to dislodge the needle.

While the drakon was panicking, the person had taken the chance to drag Clarisse to the side, where a few medics ran up to meet them.

Now the drakon was truly angered. It roared towards the sky, bellowing its fury, spitting out its fiery and devouring anger. Clarisse's savior seemed calm as he met it.

He charged. He nimbly dodged droplets of acid, repelled the fire with a round shield that Percy had not noticed. He twirled and danced, almost taunting the drakon, jabbing at its underbelly and slicing its legs. The drakon stumbled around, crushing both allies and enemies alike under its claws. Those very claws swiped at the person, but they were dodged.

The tail sliced through the air like a whip, slamming onto the ground before the new warrior.

Somewhere off by one side, Clarisse was struggling to her feet, ignoring the fervent pleas and calls of the Camp healers. She struggled against their grasps, screaming at the person. Screaming something Percy couldn't understand. It sounded like a name, almost like a plea, but…

And at that moment, the replacement warrior screamed. The drakon had spat a pool of poison, and it had finally hit its enemy- right in the face.

Alongside the mysterious savior's scream, was Clarisse's, filled with anguish and anger. She ripped herself away from the medics, hurrying to where the person now lay. She cradled the person with a gentleness Percy had never seen in her, whispering something to her savior, too quietly for him to hear.

And then, her aura changed. It went from grieving, to pure rage.

And then… and then…

Percy didn't really understand what happened next.

Cabin Five had never been one of much abilities. They were just exceptionally talented fighters and warriors.

But now… it was as if something inside of her had awakened. Clarisse seemed to be surrounded by a blood red glow, and when she moved, her own spear in her own hand…

It was slaughter. It was like watching someone butcher a pig.

Blood rained from above, where Clarisse had given the drakon one long, powerful slice from its neck down to the tip of its tail.

Guts fell from the wound, a squishy, pulpy mess that splashed as it landed into the pool, and the blood came like a flood, a sticky, red, ocean. When the drakon fell to the ground, it was with a deafening crash that splintered the ground and caused earthquakes, along with tiny tsunamis in its sea of blood.

The silence fell.

Percy finally managed to reach the fallen warrior, who laid in the middle of the blood pond.

And then, Percy realized a huge, tremendous mistake.

It was not some mysterious warrior who had appeared to replace Clarrisse; it was not even a 'he'! Because despite the helmet, despite her ruined, melted face, Percy recognized her.

The former counselor of Cabin Ten, Silena Beauregard.

 **Reviews are much appreciated!**


	11. Pain

**Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy! Please review! Reviews make us seriously happy.**

 **X**

Luke was used to the pain. The pain had become one of his best friends. No one else had truly become close to him. Only pain, misery, and loneliness had latched onto him, and walked with him all the way to today.

But watching the battle unfold before him… for a moment, Luke was stunned.

Yes, the Hunted were a sentimental bunch, going all, "I fight for my family!" and "With friends, we can overcome anything!", but this… this went further than the cheesy lines they constantly said to 'encourage' each other. Watching their faces as they fought, not caring about anything but defending their home and sanctuary… for a moment, Luke felt everything he had done just crash onto him, flattening him with guilt and pain.

Luke stumbled back. In the midst of the battle, no one noticed him as he slipped away into the tunnels of his old home. Like everything else, the familiar passages seemed foreign and cold. The walls seemed to scream at him, cursing him for betraying his friends and family. The deafening silence pressed into him, choking him with pain.

Luke yelled in frustration, stumbling into a room. His old room.

It looked like a prison cell, uninhabited by anyone for at least a year. His old roommate must have left, because both beds in there were stripped down to the mattress, and the trunks and drawers were empty. However, a cardboard box sat on the floor beside his bunk.

Carefully, Luke made his way to the box. Even more carefully, he opened it.

His old clothes that he had left behind were folded neatly in the box, along with a few pens and notebooks with nothing but random scribbles in it. Whatever he had left behind was in this little box.

Then, his thumb brushed over a few stains on the edge. They were small splatters, very faint, like drops of ink, but nearly colorless. Luke squinted, looking again.

It hit him. They were tears.

Someone had mourned for him. All the time, when he had been mean or cruel, when he had openly betrayed them… someone still cared for him. Despite what he had done, despite bringing death to their door, someone still cared for him.

The pain was overwhelming. Luke staggered onto his bunk, lying down on the cold, hard mattress. The world seemed to swirl around him in nauseating circles.

He took a deep breath and drew his sword. The bronze and iron blade gleamed dully in the light, as if mocking his last moments.

"I'm sorry," Luke managed. "I'm sorry Annabeth, Thalia. I'm sorry…" Luke chortled. "I'm feeling so stupidly sentimental I'll even apologize to the little people I've never even know. But I'll never apologize to you…"

His smile slowly faded as he thrust Backbiter into his chest.

And there was nothing more he could say.

το κυνήγι

The day just kept on getting better and better. Note the sarcasm there.

Despite winning the battle and surviving another day, everyone was worn down from the fight. Not a single person was unscathed, and it seemed as if everyone had aged five years right before his eyes.

Percy sighed as he sent another group to help out with cleaning up the mess of the dead drakon. After the battle, Percy and Annabeth had gotten to work immediately: splitting people into teams and getting them to rebuild or clean up. Fortunately, no one complained.

For Silena's body… Percy and Annabeth wrapped her up carefully in the cleanest cloth they could find. Her face was so soft, so delicate under the blood and bruises that had disfigured it. Annabeth was sniffing quietly, and Percy forced down the lump in his throat.

"We should carry it…" Percy trailed off uncertainly.

"We should bring it to her old bunk," Annabeth said. Her voice cracked. "Then after we get everything cleared up, people can… you know, pay their respects and stuff."

Percy nodded. Carefully, he lifted the body and headed towards the Sleeping Quarters. Silena was as light as a feather, but after fighting, Percy's arms were screaming in pain. Wordlessly, they headed there.

The Sleeping Quarters were as silent as death. Annabeth walked ahead, flicking on the lights. Percy set Silena down on her old bunk. Annabeth's lower lip trembled, but she walked out.

"Silena… you're a hero." Percy said quietly. "Don't forget that."

Without saying anything else, he left too.

Annabeth and Percy headed down the hall. But Annabeth suddenly stopped at Luke's old room.

"Go ahead first. I'll just…" Annabeth trailed off.

"Take your time," Percy said, and continued down the hall.

He had barely taken a few steps when Annabeth's cracked sob erupted from Luke's old room. It wasn't a silent sob for Silena. There was something far worse in it: raw, undisguised pain…

Percy whirled back around and peered into the room. His heart dropped to his stomach immediately.

The entire bed was covered in blood. Luke lay there, a bloody gash over his chest. His blue eyes stared blankly at the sky, his lips slightly parted. Annabeth was curled up beside him, rocking, tears mingling with the dried blood.

"Oh…" Percy croaked.

Apparently, Annabeth's sob didn't just alert him. More and more people were coming, gawping at Luke, and whispers were spreading like wildfires.

"Did he commit suicide?"

Percy nearly had a heart attack when he saw a little girl, no more than four, look into the room. Her eyes were wide with wonder.

"No, get out!" Percy yelped, pushing her aside. What was going on these days? Little kids that were meant to be worrying about coloring books and playgrounds were staring at dead bodies and fighting in wars!

"But I wanna see!" the little girl protested, seconded by shouts of agreement from the crowd.

"Later, all right? We'll take care of it," Percy sighed.

Reluctantly, the crowd scattered, getting back to their chores. Once everyone was gone, Percy peered into the room again.

"Annabeth?" he said anxiously.

Annabeth continued to weep, ignoring him.

Percy exhaled slowly, and closed the door, leaving Annabeth and Luke alone.


	12. Alone

**XI**

Piper had no idea what was happening. One moment she was in her room, trying to concentrate on her math homework, and the next, she was on the ground, trying to avoid the glass from her exploded windows, and staring right in the face of a hideous monster.

For several moments, both remained still as death as Piper gawked wide-eyed at the hound-like face of a telekhine. She watched as a strange, eerie smile crept up the creature's human-like lips, a satisfied growl beginning to make its way up its throat. She watched as the telekhine bared its sharp dog canines, and that was when she screamed as loudly as she could, and fled.

Snarling, the telekhine gave chase after her as she pounded through the carpeted halls and down a flight of stairs. The mansion was huge, and she was wishing to lose the monster somewhere there. It was nipping at her heels, and out of desperation, she grabbed a priceless flower vase from a sill and slammed it behind her. It shattered right in the telekhine's face.

However, as she hurried down the second flight of stairs, wolfish howls pierced through the air, and her heart turned to lead as she realized that there were more of them.

She slammed onto the first floor, pounding through the hallways as the yaps and barks of the telekhines drew rapidly closer.

Piper yanked open the front door, running out the mansion, but froze when slithering filled the air. Around her, women with the upper bodies of humans and lower bodies of snakes glided from where they hid, hissing slightly, forked tongues darting.

Piper's mind went blank. Her legs refused to move even as the snake-ladies drew closer. In their hands were weapons of every kind, each of them deadly and could skewer Piper very easily.

One was right in front of her now. The monster raised her weapon, Piper squeezing her eyes shut with growing trepidation.

The death blow didn't come.

Piper's eyes snapped open to find the Dracanae frozen with her mouth wide in shock. Then, she went slack, and disintegrated into sand.

Standing behind her with a sword as black as night, was a young boy. He had dark hair and eyes, but deathly pale skin, and he was too skinny to be healthy.

Piper gawked.

The boy didn't say anything. He simply grabbed her hand, and ran. With a concert of different noises, the monsters gave chase.

As they fled, the boy spoke. "There's another one in Texas. Hold on tight."

The small part of her brain that's still functioning jolted. _Texas? Are we going_ run _to_ Texas _? From_ California _?_

The boy swerved suddenly, dragging her into a small alley. But even so, he didn't stop, continuing to charge towards the wall. Before Piper could even react, they slammed into the surface, and sank into the shadows.

Wind whipped her hair around her face, which felt like it was falling off. Her clothes felt like it was dragging her back with the wind, but they continued forward as if there was a force pulling them towards one direction, the boy's grip on her never loosening.

Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped, and they were spat from the darkness into the boiling summer sun.

They were in Texas.

 _What?_ Her brain just couldn't keep up.

"Follow me," the boy said, and he ran, finally letting her wrist go.

Piper followed on rubbery legs.

They ran for a while, houses passing, the sun beating down full force.

Then, Piper heard a sound that chilled her to her bones.

It was the sound of high, cackling laughter, and also of shouting. The boy sped up, Piper struggling to catch up with him, and they arrived at a horrific scene.

It was a mechanic's shop, and it was surrounded by hideous monsters with one metal leg and one donkey leg. Their laughter were high and evil, filled with wicked and sadistic glee, and from their open mouths they spewed streams of fire.

The boy cursed in Italian. "Empousai," he muttered. "Why does it have to be empousai?" Then, at Piper, he commanded, "Stay here," and he charged.

He caught the first several _empousai_ by surprise, slicing through them like cheese and already pouncing on another as one disintegrated. He fought with a practiced ease and skill that Piper couldn't help but feel awed.

Now the monsters were no longer cackling with laughter; they screeched with wrath, charging on their mismatched legs and swiping their razor sharp talons. Fire burst out cackling on the dry plants around them, and the shop went up in flames.

And to Piper's immense horror, shouts came from the shop, along with the sounds of crashing and stumbling. Then, with his curses and Spanish, a scrawny boy smashed through the doorway of the mechanic's shop, covered in soot, clothes scorched.

He had a wild mane of curly black hair and brown eyes and skin, along with pointy, elfish features. His hands fluttered like birds, swatting out flames on his clothes, swiping at the ash on his face: never stopping, never resting.

He yelped when the first boy slammed into him from the side after being thrown back by a powerful empousa. They became a tangled mess of limbs, and automatically, Piper moved forward, heart skipping a beat as another monster charged forward. Out of instinct, Piper shouted, "Stop!"

And everything froze.

Nobody moved, just froze there, blinking confusedly. Slowly, the monsters began to stir, but Piper shouted one more word: "Freeze!"

And they all obeyed. Even the two boys didn't seem to be able to move.

Piper continued forward cautiously through the crowd of monsters until she was right in front of the boys, sprawled over the dusty ground. She took the pale boy's hand, tugging him up and untangling him from the other boy, who groaned slightly when the weight was lifted.

"Heavens…" he grunted as he stood, hands already dusting at his clothes. Then, he straightened and turned to Piper and the other boy. "Now, can you two tell me, what the hell are those stuff?" He gestured at the empousai

That seemed to break the spell.

With wild screeching, the creatures charged

"Dios mío!" the Latino boy yelped, raising a hand in attempt to defend himself…

And blasted the empousai with scorching fire. Nothing was left other than a black scorch mark on the ground and several more very surprised, turning very angry empousai and three shocked children.

Piper was the first to jerk out of the daze. "Run!" she screamed, and all three of them fled.

"Grab hold!" the Italian boy called out, gesturing at the other two. Piper and the Latino boy grabbed his hand, and they sank into darkness once more.

This time, they arrived in a forest, where the pale boy collapsed to his knees, panting. Piper fell beside him, slinging his arm over her shoulders and dragging herself up. "Where are we?" she asked him quietly.

"Long Island," he answered between heavy gasps.

"Whoa, dude, calm down," the Latino boy patted him on the back. "You okay?"

"Fine," came the curt answer. He pushed himself away from Piper, swaying for a moment before steadying and moving forward.

"We are going somewhere people like you will be safe," he explained as they walked down a forest path. "It's a Camp, and there are much more people like you. We have to hurry, in case monsters are nearby."

"People like us?" Piper repeated.

"Yes," the boy said. "People with strange abilities, though I have to admit, your powers are quite rare. There's only one other person in Camp with Charmspeak, and everyone hates her. No one else is a Pyrokinetic though. Last time there was a Fire-Manipulator, London burned. Either way, some people were born with these powers. Others were… forced."

"Forced?"

"It's complicated." He was beginning to sound irritated. "Someone will explain when we get there."

They have arrived at the edge of the forest, on the tip of a tall hill. There was a steep valley, then rising into another tall hill, where a tall pine tree perched before an abandoned warehouse.

They descended into the valley, and followed the pale boy up the second hill. He brushed his hand over the surface of the pine tree, then continued into the warehouse, where he forced open the door and entered into the darkness.

After a moment of hesitation, Piper and the Latino boy followed.

Piper closed the door behind her cautiously, and found herself plunged into darkness. Slowly, her eyes adjusted. Small streams of light came from the boarded windows and Piper realized that she was at the edge of a huge stairway, descending into darkness. The two boys were already halfway down.

Cautiously, she moved down, flinching every time the floorboards creaked loudly. At the bottom of the stairway was a huge Underground chamber, completely empty and undecorated save for a few old chairs on one side and large double doors opposite of them. The pale boy unfalteringly strode to the doors, and pushed them open, Piper and her fellow newcomer close behind him.

Behind the door, was a scene that amazed Piper so much that she found herself completely immobilized.

The Underground cavern seemed near infinite. There were hills, and cabins, and pavilions, even a visible arena. People streamed from the cabins, strolled about the makeshift roads, trained at the arena…

It was amazing. Somehow, it didn't seem dark. Everything seemed illuminated somehow. Perhaps it was the torches places all around the place, or the light that streamed from hollowed out tree roots from aboveground.

Numbly, Piper stepped forward, and then, for the first time, somebody seemed to notice them.

"Nico!" a boy with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes hurried forward, greeting the pale boy. "You're back!" Then, he paused. "Who're these?"

"Newcomers," Nico answered curtly, then stepped around the boy towards the faraway cabins.

The blonde boy smiled a little apologetically. "He wasn't too cold, was he? Oh well." He ushered the two of them in, then closed the double doors behind them. "Welcome to the Hunted! I'm Will, by the way, the Camp Doctor. I have healing abilities. Let's see… I'll bring you to Chiron first, then I'll show you around, okay?"

As they made their way through Camp towards a big building, Piper and the Latino boy's eyes were darting everywhere. She glanced back, once, and found that the double doors they came in through were situated on a gigantic stone wall that stretched on to each side for miles. People waved at them as they passed, everyone seeming quite nice and content.

It made Piper feel very much relieved. Perhaps this was the place she could finally fully fit in.

And then, they met Chiron, and once again, Piper found herself immobilized with shock.

Chiron was… a centaur.

She didn't think it was possible. Centaurs belonged to those old myths and stories she had read once in a book. It's not… natural.

Chiron sighed slightly at their expression of disbelief.

"Come in, have a seat," he said, and they obeyed.

The first thing they did was introduce themselves, and Piper finally learned the name of her Latino friend: Leo. They chatted with Chiron, who explained everything: about the Naturals, and the Injected, and everything else. By the end of the story, Leo and Piper's minds were rearing.

"It might be a little bit… overwhelming," Chiron said, "but you'll calm down very soon."

Leo nodded, then opened his mouth. "So… everyone is separated by their powers? Then what if someone has a very unique power that nobody else has? Does that person get a Cabin of their own?"

Chiron answered, "For some cases, yes. For example, we have Percy, who's a Water-Manipulator. He got his own cabin, because while water and plants, Cabin Four, get along quite well, Percy's powers also include earthquakes, hurricanes, and all that. It's quite a destructive power, if not controlled well. But then, we have kids with Healing powers, such as Will, who brought you here. They are put into the same cabin as kids with music abilities. Those are both quite… heart-warming abilities, I guess, which was why they were assigned to be together."

"Music abilities," Piper heard Leo mutter under his breath. "Wow, must be so useful." She suppressed a snort.

"We use to have a person who could control lightning and storms," Chiron continued, not hearing Leo's comment, "but no longer, so we have one empty cabin at that. Then there's another cabin for the Hunters, who are a group of girls with powers just like anyone of us here. However, the Huntresses and Amazons also recruit girls that doesn't have powers, normal humans, so they are very special."

"The Amazons are like the Hunters?"

"Yes, other than the fact that the Hunters reject men completely, Amazons believe in living a full life, marrying, having children, and all that."

"So technically, other than the Hunters and Amazons, this is the only Camp for people like us?" Leo inquired.

Chiron paused for a long time, and when he finally answered, his voice was hesitant. "Yes, we're the only ones. It's just us."

 **το κυνήγι**

Reyna slumped down by the crates. Her whole body ached, her eyes drooped with sleep deprivation, and her thirst needed to be quenched. Gritting her teeth against those physical handicaps, she pushed herself up to a proper sitting position with the pommel of her sword. Her two mechanical dogs, Aurum and Argentum, crawled into the tent as well, circling around her and pressing their cool metal flanks comfortingly to her side.

The war against the Giants had been going on for weeks now, and they were painfully obviously losing. The hordes of monsters sent by the mad scientists seemed endless, and the impact on the camp was horrible.

How did the Giants even find their camp? Reyna wondered. A traitor was the most possible answer, but without any clues, let alone proof, she couldn't point any fingers.

The tent flapped open once more, and this time, Jason, her fellow praetor, entered.

Reyna had never seen Jason in a worse state. His usually neat blonde hair was unruly, his electric blue eyes dull and weary. His bones seemed to creak with exhaustion as he walked. When he plopped down next to Reyna, he did it with a long sigh, like an old man who had just walked too much for his old age. And in a way, they are all like elderly beings, having seen so much and having attended the funerals of so many people.

It was war.

"Reyna," Jason spoke suddenly. "Reyna, we're losing."

She did not reply, but she knew.

"I've been doing some research," he continued, "Mostly stuff about the past. From a long, long time ago, when the Hunted were just formed."

Reyna nodded slightly, encouraging him to continue.

"There's something I found… something that might save us if we lose the war. It's a long shot, I'm not sure if it'll work, but it is still hope. We, the Hunted, have hope, that is, if the information proves to be correct." Jason paused, taking a deep breath before he announced, "I found another camp."

 **Hi! Sorry for the slow update. The chapter might have seemed a little rush, and I apologize deeply for that. But either way, please review! Thank you!**


	13. War

**Sorry for the very late chapter.**

 **XII**

Golden dust filled the valley, disturbed now and then by the gentle summer breeze, sifting like sand and covering the blotches of blood that stained them and the human corpses, swarmed with scavengers.

It had been a long time since the war began. It lasted for too long, and even from the very beginning, Reyna knew that they were only postponing the inevitable. The Giants had a near unending horde of monsters, and they were only creating more.

Human lives could not be made, nor replaced.

How many of her friends were dead? How many lay in that valley, buried deep in the dust they had struggled to create?

Those were questions Reyna did not want to ponder.

At first, they had mourned for those that never returned. Now, however, there wasn't the time or energy to do any of that. It's not like the dead can help them anyway.

Reyna has stopped counting the days, and instead, began noting the supplies. How much longer can they last them? How much longer will this war drag out?

Not much longer, probably. Their army's numbers has been reduced by the hundreds.

They have no choice.

It was near the end of autumn when Reyna and Jason came to a reluctant agreement, and announced to the rest of their surviving comrades, "Tomorrow, we leave. Abandon this camp, abandon our homes. We will build another one, far, far away from here, somewhere safe."

No one argued. No one had the energy to.

"We leave tomorrow."

 **το** **κυνήγι**

The information Jason had was very vague: too vague, and that was dangerous.

They had managed to escape the area, covering all signs of their existence behind. They hunted for food, drank whatever water they could find, and kept to the outskirts of the cities, trying to look as inconspicuous as they could.

"Somewhere around here…" Jason studied the crudely drawn map, wrinkled and stained and worn after three weeks of travelling, folding and unfolding. There was a gleam of desperation in his eyes that Reyna had never seen before, like the look of a hungry wolf, desperate for something, anything, to fill its stomach.

He was dirty, his clothes torn, his hair unruly, and Reyna knew that she wasn't much better looking. They all looked pretty battered and beaten up.

But they had arrived. Or at least, according to Jason, they had. All Reyna could see was a deep valley and a large wooden house- obviously abandoned- sitting on the edge of a high plain, its windows glaring down at the land below.

Her fellow leader frowned. "It should be around here. My research said…"

 _Your research,_ she wanted to scoff. _Since when did we rely on_ research _?_

 _Since a long time ago,_ her conscience answered. _The only reason you exist is because of some sick guy's research._

Sometimes, she just really hated that little voice at the back of her head.

And it was getting louder, as the weary silence wore on. Despite their relatively large group of people, no one seemed to have enough will or energy to converse. There had been a heavy silence weighing down on them as they trudged towards a blurry goal that had nearly no proof of existing.

 _The Greeks_ , Jason had called them. _They are the Greeks, we are the Romans._

 _The Greeks hated the Romans,_ Reyna had replied, frowning.

 _Perhaps._ There was such hope in his expression. _But in the end, the Romans conquered the Greeks, didn't they?_

Reyna almost laughed at the thought. Conquer the Greeks. With their army of weary parents and sobbing children? Barely one thirds of their group was soldiers, and those fighters were already worn through by the war against the Giants.

She wished the Greeks would be nice, and maybe welcome them with open arms. She didn't want to fight anymore.

Their group shuffled down the hill, dragging their feet, but impatient as well. If they could get some proper food, shelter as soon as possible…

Suddenly, sirens sounded from inside the abandoned warehouse, wailing, echoing, the sound piercing through the weary silence.

This time, Reyna did laugh. She laughed so hard she could breathe, and her stomach ached.

 _Greeks and Romans?_ _Welcome with open arms? Not fight?_

Reyna felt like a part of her was going crazy, especially as figures poured out of the warehouse door, facing them, weapons gleaming. She couldn't stop laughing.

 _Oh, Good Game._

 **το** **κυνήγι**

One thing Annabeth did not expect, was only a few months after the war against Luke and the Titans, a large group of beggars appearing in the valley. The guards at that time: two young, inexperienced soldiers, had spotted them, and was confused enough to panic slightly and pull the alarm.

Their fighters filed out, ready to battle, and Annabeth had been part of that group, right next to Percy. They didn't attack, merely stood there and stared at the disheveled group, unsure what to do, before Chiron came trotting forward, expression grim as he beheld the strange sight.

A blonde boy stepped from the group, a dark-haired girl close behind him: they were obviously the leaders of the group. Chiron approached them cautiously, and they talked, discussing about something, seeming to negotiate. Chiron was calm, but as they spoke, the boy seemed to be growing angrier and angrier. She didn't know where they came from, or what they were doing here, but they've obviously been through a lot, and too much experience can drive a person crazy.

There was a sudden gleam of gold metal. The girl held the boy back as he waved his sword.

"Hey!" Clarisse shouted from the front lines, "What do you think you're doing?"

"That guy obviously belong in the asylum," Leo muttered somewhere behind Annabeth. Percy fiddled with the straps of his armor. Piper sighed, not far away, obviously unwilling to be part of all of this.

The dark-haired girl held the dispirited boy tenderly, and she shouted something at Chiron. Annabeth was too far away to hear.

Chiron took in the words, nodded slowly, and trotted back towards them. His expression was grim.

"What happened, Chiron?" Annabeth asked.

"Those were the Hunted." Chiron answered quietly. "They called themselves the Romans. And apparently, we are the Greeks."

There was a hushed silence sinking into the valley.

The boy and girl were arguing. _What was happening?_

Chiron took a deep breath. "They've declared war on us."

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Something wasn't right. Something was definitely wrong. What had happened during the short negotiation that prompted the other group of the Hunted- the _Romans_ , Annabeth wanted to roll her eyes- to declare war?

It has been a week, and though only one small battle had occurred, they- the _Greeks_ \- were shocked to see the skill of those Romans. There was bloodshed on both sides, but the Greeks were pained to see parents with children fighting, and were reluctant enough that the Romans found a chance to win with their battered army.

It was obvious that neither side wanted this, but none tried to stop it either. It was meaningless bloodshed. There was no point in this. People were dying in vain. Why did the negotiation go wrong? The Romans had wanted a place to stay, so why didn't they give it to them?

Thousands of questions whirled around in Annabeth's head in a crazy tornado.

She was reading the history of the Hunted, several journals written by a Hunted from a long time ago.

Her eyes skimmed through the words, not really registering, until something snagged her attention.

 _'The Athena Parthenos was taken by the others…'_ Romans, Annabeth realized. This was a 'Greek' journal, after all. _'…but soon, it was stolen by the evil,'_ the Giants, she guessed, _'and ceased to exist anymore. Rumor says that it's been hidden. If it still exists, it's likely to be the only thing that can heal a rift that shouldn't have occurred…'_

The rest of the passage, Annabeth didn't pay attention to, even though it stated the possible places the Athena Parthenos- whatever that was- might be hidden.

Her mind was swimming, her head was pounding, and hope bloomed in her heart.

She can do it. She can stop a possibly devastating war. All she needed to do was find the Athena Parthenos.

Annabeth Chase grinned.

 **Please Review!**


	14. Hunters

**XIII**

"This is a great idea." Percy said immediately.

"I know!" Annabeth beamed with pride. "We have a location, we have a mission… Chiron, I can do this."

They were at the meeting room. Annabeth had dragged Percy and Chiron over the moment they had their free time, and told them everything about the Athena Parthenos, and about how it could possibly be the only way for peace.

Chiron paused, taking a deep breath as he considered everything she said. There was a moment of tense silence. Annabeth could almost see the gears whirring in his head as he weighed the risks: sending an experienced fighter who was also a member of the leaderboard off on a mission that may end in devastating failure, but in exchange for a possible chance of peace between two incredibly powerful groups…

"Yes," Chiron said at last. "Go, but be safe."

Percy nodded. "We'll leave tomorrow morning."

"We?" Annabeth paused.

"Yeah," Percy shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm coming along too."

"No, it's too dangerous." Annabeth said.

Percy snorted. "Says the girl who's going on the dangerous quest all by herself. Don't worry about me, I got this. Admit it, we're going to get things done a whole lot faster when there's a team."

"No," Annabeth shook her head. "Percy, the camp needs you."

"The camp needs _us_ to stop the war." Percy countered.

"You don't get it." Annabeth growled. "Experienced leaders are dropping like flies. Beckendorf, Silena, Luke…" Annabeth felt her voice catch at the last one, but she plowed right ahead. "We're one of the last leaders left, Percy! If you go, the camp's going to fall into ruins."

"We still have Katie, Will…"

"Percy." Annabeth glared at him. "If you die, the camp dies. Chiron might be the leader of the group, I might be the brains, but you are the heart. If the heart dies, the entire system dies. If you die, the camp won't fight back anymore. They'll just let themselves be taken over. So you _need_ to stay here!"

Something in Percy's eyes cracked, and Annabeth felt a twinge of guilt.

"I don't care." Percy said gruffly. "I'm coming."

Annabeth let out a furious growl, and stormed out of the room. Yes, she probably looked like some stupid, spoiled brat trying to claim all of the glory, but she didn't care. Yes, the camp did need Percy, but mostly… Annabeth just didn't want Percy hurt. It was very selfish of her, but anything could happen on that quest, and if Percy died… watching him die, with her unable to do anything to help… like Luke…

That night, dinner was a very solemn affair. Percy seemed subdued, picking at his food. The camp was also very silent, maybe from the shock of battle, or maybe because the 'heart' was unhappy. Oh well.

Annabeth wasn't hungry, but she forced herself to eat everything on her plate. Then, she placed the dish away, and headed to her room. She picked up her backpack and stuffed some clothes in, some extra weapons, a book, and a few other necessities. She lay in bed and pretended to sleep as her roommates stumbled sleepily in.

Annabeth waited for hours. It didn't take long for her roommates to hit the snooze button, but she did wait for an extra hour for the camp to fall asleep. Once silence shrouded the hallways and rooms, Annabeth got up soundlessly, grabbed her bags, and left.

το κυνήγι

The Athena Parthenos was in Rome.

Annabeth snuck out of the camp, careful to stay out of sight as she scurried onto the surface. She slipped past the Romans, and grabbed a cab heading towards the airport. She cracked the window of the car open, and a cool night breeze washed into the stuffy interior, chasing away the stench of cigarettes and stale tobacco. She watched as the familiar shack faded away into the distance. Would this be the last time she would ever see her home again?

The ride took way longer than it should have. When Annabeth finally arrived, the price was incredible. And after seeing the greedy glint in the driver's eyes, Annabeth was sure that the driver took the long way there.

Reluctantly, Annabeth handed the wad of cash over. She had barely slammed the door shut when the cab rushed away, leaving her choking in the smoke. Mortals, always so rude.

So, without further ado, Annabeth entered the airport.

It was a rather large place, and several snoozing receptionists occupied the front desks. A few drooping plants were arranged around the entrance, meant to look welcoming, but it really just made everything seem a teeny bit pitiful. Faded posters hung from the walls, advertising clothes that made even the photo-shopped models look like hobos. There were a few napping people sitting on the benches lining against the wall, waiting for their flight.

Annabeth walked up to the front desk. The receptionist had her head on the counter, and was snoring quietly.

"Hello?" Annabeth said.

The receptionist continued snoring.

Annabeth rapped her knuckles against the marble surface. "Hello?"

The receptionist looked up blearily. "Hi, how can I help you?"

Annabeth took out her wallet and flashed a credit card. "When is the next flight to Rome? If I did my research correctly, it's in two hours, right?"

"Yeah, it is." The receptionist yawned. Annabeth honestly tried not to cringe as a wave of coffee-breath blasted her right in the face. "But it's too late to buy a ticket now."

"Really?" Annabeth said. She placed the credit card temptingly on the desk, along with a fifty. "I'm willing to pay twice the cost for just one ticket. It doesn't even have to be a seat. As long as I'm on that plane, I'm fine. Plus, you get a tip." Annabeth nudged the cash.

The receptionist was awake now, and she was staring at the money. Annabeth could practically see the gears whirring in her head as she weighed her options.

"Oh, don't worry about it." A voice appeared behind Annabeth. A deft hand swiped the card and cash off the counter. Annabeth whirled around, her hand automatically reaching for the dagger hidden under her shirt.

There was a small group of girls behind her, led by a tall, pretty girl with dark hair and an athletic figure. She wore a tank top and camouflage pants tucked into combat boots, and a hiking backpack was slung over a shoulder. A silvery band of metal was placed above her brow, almost like a tiara. The other girls were dressed similarly, but none of them seemed as confident as the lead girl.

The girl handed the card and cash back to Annabeth, but along with that, there was also a plane ticket for a flight to Rome.

"Who…?" Annabeth started.

The girl held out a hand. "I'm Zoe. We're the Hunters."

Annabeth's eyes widened, but she nodded slowly. "I'm Annabeth."

Zoe smiled. "We've heard about you. And your quest to find the Athena Parthenos."

"From who?" Annabeth asked.

Zoe's smile widened. "We have our sources."

"All right," Annabeth said. "I'm sorry if I sound mean or anything, but in this world, nothing can be trusted. Can you prove to me that you really are the Hunters?"

Zoe laughed, and picked something small and silver out of her pocket. Immediately, she was holding a gleaming bow in her hand, nocked with an arrow. Without hesitating, the arrow fired, landing right into the wall behind the poor receptionist, who was white with shock. A lone strand of hair fell almost delicately onto the countertop.

Zoe picked up a small silver device and clicked it. A spray of mist engulfed the receptionist, and when the mist cleared, the receptionist had her face on the glossy surface and was once more snoring her head off. And with the memory of the last ten minutes gone.

"Got it." Annabeth said.

Zoe grinned, and nodded towards the girls behind her. The girls nodded back, and left the airport.

"So, I'm guessing you'll be needing a bit of help." Zoe continued. "May I come along, if you don't mind?"

"But what about the rest of the Hunters?" Annabeth asked. "Will they need you to…?"

"Phoebe's taking care of the rest." Zoe said easily.

"Do you have everything packed? Do you need anything else…"

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. I got everything I need."

Annabeth smiled weakly. Oh boy, she probably sounded like a worrywart or something.

"So," Zoe tipped her head towards the waiting room. "Let's get going, then."

Grinning, Annabeth followed.


	15. Stone

**XIV**

When they arrived at Rome, it was past noon. Camp would've noticed her absence by now, but hopefully the note she had placed on her pillow would prevent them from thinking she had pulled a 'Luke', and ran away from Camp to join the – gods forbid – Romans, or Giants.

The Roman sun hung high above their heads, beating heavily down upon them. Soon, Annabeth had stuffed her jacket into her backpack, and had pulled her hair up into a high ponytail in an attempt to cool down. She regretted not bringing a hat.

In a way, it was funny, how she went to _Rome_ to find a way to stop the war against the _Romans_. Of course, the 'Romans' were hardly actual Romans. Nico would be much more Roman than them, considering the fact that he's Italian. Speaking of Nico-

"It should be around here, correct?" Zoë gestured, her voice cutting off Annabeth's wandering train of thought. It was getting harder to concentrate as her body fought off sleep. The initial adrenaline of sneaking away had worn off, and discussing her plans on to Zoë on the plane did not help her rest. When she got off, her brain was beginning fry, and the heat only succeeded in making her even drowsier.

Annabeth beheld the Roman ruins of a great arena in front of her, too sleepy to appreciate the wonderful architecture.

"Yes, this should be it," she confirmed, hoping her research deems correct. "There should be somewhere that leads underground…"

They arrived at the ancient site, noting the amount of tourists swarming around its stone walls and taking pictures.

"Troublesome," Zoë commented. Annabeth agreed.

They had to find a passage underground without attracting any attention. With so many people around, their chances of being seen are sky-high. Not to mention that extra security had been situated to control the people, just in case. This was going to be problematic.

The two girls took a deep breath before diving into the crowd, then letting the others jostle them around, moving with the wave until they reached the front of the arena. Peeking through an arch, Annabeth saw the rows and rows of seats- crude and crumbling. There was a round pit in the middle, the ground smooth, the surrounding walls too high and smooth for anyone or anything to scale without any assistance.

There was a tug on her sleeve, and then Annabeth found herself being pulled through the swarm of people by Zoë. After some stumbling and blind wandering, they entered the arena, where many people had situated all around, taking pictures or chatting idly. Annabeth looked around, eyes sharp for anything that seemed out of place.

There was nothing. The tourists were normal, the building was normal, there was nothing that could indicate that something as precious as the Athena Parthenos could be hidden around here.

Then, a horrible thought dawned to her. What if they were in the wrong place? What if her research wasn't correct? Then, she blinked, and groaned, pressing her fingers to her temples and massaging them. The lack of sleep was catching up on her.

Of course it wouldn't be so easy to find. They'd have to investigate a little. There's bound to be some type of mechanism somewhere that will give them a path underground.

Zoë, the more alert of the two, seem to share her thoughts. "We can't do anything right now," she murmured. "We should come back when there're less people."

Nodding, Annabeth and Zoë left for the exit, leaving the people-infested sight.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in a nearby café, where Annabeth nearly nodded off hundreds of times. The sun was setting by the time they decided to move out again, and there was a significant decrease of people by the site. The two girls entered the Colosseum once more, this time much more easily, and they headed straight to the center, where the fighting pit was.

The world was quickly darkening around them. Night was falling. Soon, the last of the people trickled out as the night chill began to settle in. Annabeth pulled her jacket out from her backpack and bundled it around herself.

"Hey!" a voice shouted. They looked up to see a security guard pointing his flashlight down at them. "The place is clo-"

Zoë snapped her fingers, and the guard collapsed to the ground, snoring softly. Quickly, Zoë hurried up to him and took his flashlight, then shone it around them. As the light illuminated parts of the arena, Annabeth's eyes sudden caught something. Down there, where the ground and walls connect, were… words. There were words carved into the stone, too small to be noticed easily, but not completely hidden either. Annabeth gestured at Zoë, and they cautiously began to examine the words.

It didn't seem to be in any language Annabeth recognized, but that might be due to the fact that the rock had been worn and thinned and smoothened, and it's now barely legible. They could only make out a few Latin letters. A little frustrated, Annabeth reached out and brushed her fingers over the letters, feeling the carved stone as if the words were merely hidden beneath a layer of dust.

Naturally, nothing happened, until Annabeth pressed.

She had pushed the edge where the ground meets the wall, and a rumbling sound shook the floor. She withdrew immediately, slightly shocked, and glanced around to check for any people that might see. With a confirming nod from Zoë, she touched the margin and pushed again, harder and harder until the rock completely swung back, revealing a steep drop into darkness. Zoë shone the flashlight down, and the light bounced back, approximately ten meters beneath them.

"I brought a rope," Zoë said quietly, "but I'm not too sure if it's long enough."

"Something is better than nothing," Annabeth replied.

So the Hunter secured the rope against the nearby railing, and threw it into the pit. A shine with the flashlight told them that the rope barely reached halfway.

After a few tests, Annabeth swung down cautiously, her heart pounding slightly, and adrenaline quickening her hands and feet so that she was soon at the end of the rope. Now, she began to ease down, until she was only holding the end of the rope with one hand, her body dangling and barely supported by the stone wall in front of her. Then, she took a deep breath and let go, dropping towards the floor.

The impact sent her bones reverberating as the shock travelled up her body. The soles of her feet ached, her bones barking in protest. Annabeth stumbled a little before looking up and shooting Zoë a thumbs-up sign.

The Hunter scaled down with more grace and landed softly on her feet, straightening painlessly and so easily that Annabeth was almost envious.

With one quick shot of a silver arrow, Zoë severed the rope, and replaced the short length into her bag. "Never know when you'll need it," she explained.

Waving the flashlight, the two girls began to make their down a long, dark, crudely carved hall. Water was dripping somewhere in front of them, its constant sound echoing along the walls. They were careful with where they step in case of triggering something on accident, and several times, they heard scuffling and caught quick shadows darting away from their source of light.

The flashlight was starting to flicker from the continuous use. They have to move more quickly so they finish as much as they can before the flashlight truly dies, and before tourists start pouring in again, only to find a gigantic hole in the wall. That'd be pretty bad.

Their footsteps more hurried, Annabeth and Zoë began to jog when they heard the sound of running water not far away. There was probably a more open space just in front…

They arrived at a chamber.

Immediately, Zoë clicked off the flashlight to save its energy. However, instead of being plunged into darkness, Annabeth found her eyes adjusting to a strange brightness in her dim surroundings. Their new source of light had a greenish, bluish tint, and it was constant and steady, quite reassuring.

The chamber was gigantic, over ten meters high, so they must have been unconsciously travelling deeper into the earth as well. Pillars held up the ceiling, and numerous broken altars, statues, and whatnot was scattered around the floor. Through it all, a river ran through, curving and disappearing into a dark tunnel in front of them, near to the left.

There was an eerie touch to their surroundings that made Annabeth and Zoë alert. The lack of air flow was disturbing, but there were no obvious signs of dust either. Many stones were smooth and eroded, and the place was so silent their breathings echoed.

Something wasn't right with the place.

There was a whisper of movement among the rocks and shadows.

The light flickered, faint voices reflected.

Annabeth drew her dagger from its hilt, Zoë had an arrow nocked in less than a second, not aimed at anything in particular.

"Who's there?" Annabeth called, her voice seemingly too loud in the spacious chamber. "Show yourself!"

One small part of her wanted to roll her eyes at herself for the cheesiness of that statement, but she was mostly alert, especially when her sharp gray eyes caught further movement and sound behind a broken statue, as if some people were discussing whether or not to 'show themselves'.

Then, an agreement came to the argument, and the two girls went slack as figures emerged from the shadows, some seemingly appearing out of nowhere. They were vaguely humanoid, features growing more detailed by the second. There was a grayish green tint to their complexions and a strange glow around them…

Annabeth nearly dropped her weapon as more of them emerged, and a strange dread settled in her stomach.

They were surrounded by ghosts.

 **Please Review!**


	16. Weave

**XV**

Never, in her entire life, did Annabeth think that she would stumble over _ghosts_. After all those years of running and fighting and plotting and warring, she didn't think death would come back to haunt her so bad.

Literally speaking, in this case.

Zoë was tense beside her, her bow and arrows nocked, but pointing towards the ground. She was obviously going for the no-danger look, but with her grim and stricken expression, it wasn't working out very well. Annabeth knew she didn't look much better, but she stepped forward, forcing herself to speak.

"We come in peace." Because, of course, that's what they always say. "All we want is to pass through this chamber."

The ghosts did not seem to have heard her. They chattered amongst themselves, until one brave soul (literally _only_ a soul) stepped up to meet her. The voice that spoke was young and old at the same time, but it was male, and the spirit that stood before her had a tall, broad form of a grown man. "And for what do you want to pass this chamber into death?"

Annabeth's throat dried. _Into death?_ That doesn't make sense. They were supposed to go retrieve the Athena Parthenos. "Death…?" She managed to keep the stutter out of her voice.

"Yes, death." The ghost gestured towards the path of water. "If we even let you pass, and allow you follow the river, it will bring you to imminent death. What waits beyond ensures it."

"I have full confidence that we'd be fine." Now, Zoë stepped up to Annabeth, her voice smooth and unfaltering.

The temperature of the chamber seemed to drop several degrees, and Annabeth saw her breath mist slightly in the air. Her fingers clammy, she stuck them into her jacket pocket, where her hand brushed on something cool… and round…

"You know nothing of what lies ahead," the ghost insisted. "Turn back before you push us too far, people of the living. You are not the first to come ask us for passage, and you will not be the last. Men, heroes, sages, beasts: we've seen them all. Barely any has succeeded, and those who do perish in the web. So two children such as you cannot possibly succeed."

 _You don't know that_ , Annabeth wanted to retort, but she was too busy feeling the object in her pocket. There seemed to be a small button on it, and when she pressed it, a faint hum brought the object to life, as if waiting for her to tell it what to do.

With a jolt, she suddenly realized what she held in her hand.

"It does not matter." Zoë was just as insistent as the ghost. "We have a goal – not a lust for wealth, but to save. We want peace. And only what lies beyond is able give us that."

"We've heard this excuse many times. They all come to save many lives, but in the end, they were not worthy."

 _"Keep them talking,"_ Annabeth hissed to the Hunter. _"I have a plan."_

Zoë didn't acknowledge her, not showing that she heard her at all, but she replied to the ghost, "You have no right to call anyone worthy when none of you can see past our faces."

There was a sudden flare of light as the ghost straightened and snarled, his aura amplifying slightly.

But Annabeth didn't notice. She was remembering a young boy who had grown bitter and cold, but remained loyal. She remembered the way he sat in the shadows, and the darkness was his home, and he embraced death as his friend, fought alongside it, but stayed alive.

Discreetly, she placed the device, closed in her palm, against her lips, and whispered, _"Nico di Angelo."_

She didn't expect the hologram to pop out so suddenly, and she certainly had never realized how bright it was. The holographic screen crackled with static for a moment before Nico di Angelo pressed the button on his identical device somewhere far, far away, and his face emerged on the screen.

Shrieks rose amongst the ranks of ghosts, and Zoë had spun around, her expression shocked and confused.

 _"Deceiving liars! Fools!"_ Screams grew into a howl.

 _"Annabeth?"_ Nico was confused, his voice crackling from the bad connection. _"What is that sound? No, I mean- Where are you? People are frantic looking for you!"_

"I'm safe!" she shouted back, then added, "For now! Percy knows where I am – maybe, but you have to come right now! RIGHT NOW!"

 _"What-?"_

"JUST COME!"

 _"Where are you?!"_

"ROME!" Nico froze for a moment, but Annabeth wasn't watching him. Her eyes were trained on the ghosts, yowling and screaming and advancing. But Zoë, out of pure desperation, had ripped papers out of a notebook, scribbling runes over it, sticking them onto her arrows, and shooting them at the ghosts. Those who were pierced howled in pain and dissolved along with the paper, but there were too many of them, and even though Zoë was the Hunter Lieutenant, she was one girl, and Annabeth was just- she was just-!

 _"JUST GET HERE RIGHT NOW, NICO DI ANGELO!"_

And then a ghost, nothing but a young girl, sprang forward with a snarl twisting her vague features. When her fingers brushed Annabeth's arm, it didn't just pass through: it _burned_. It _burned_ , and it was strange and new and Annabeth stumbled back, hissing painfully and dropping the Iris Message device onto the ground, where it bounced twice before the ghost pounced onto it, and it sizzled and broke down, the holographic screen fading away with Nico's voice already gone.

Annabeth leapt back, grabbed a notebook page, and sliced her dagger across her palm. Blood welled, and she dipped her fingers onto the wound quickly, and drawing it across the paper into a faint rune. The rune burned into the ghost girl the way she had burned into Annabeth, and she vanished in a high-pitched scream.

Again and again, she smeared her own blood over the pages from a rapidly thinning notebook. Zoë's numerous quivers of arrows were beginning to run low, but they just kept coming, and coming, and coming, and- _when is he coming?!_

Annabeth was panting, not because she was running around, but because desperation was pumping too much adrenaline into her veins, and she could not move enough. Strained sweat trickled down her neck, and her palm ached and itched as the wound was opened again and again to draw out more blood.

The notebook was seriously running out now, but there're too much, and there are so many mild, irritating burns over her now that-

Darkness rolled in suddenly, a wave of coldness and dust and vacuum. Ghosts shrieked as they vaporized suddenly, and then there he was.

Nico di Angelo was panting from the distance he had been forced to shadow-travel. His pale skin was a stark contrast against the shadows he called in, and when the Ghost King unleashed himself upon the ghosts, they stood no chance.

And it was the most horrible thing she had ever seen: the banishing of ghosts. The way their bodies seize up and fold over into a tiny, invisible hole, and they were shredded, and ceased to exist, even in death.

But then the chamber was empty, and Nico di Angelo was no one but a scrawny thirteen year old boy with too much power in a too-small body. He slumped forward, knees hitting the stone floor, and Annabeth rushed forward, carefully helping him up.

Zoë took a large step back when they neared her, and it wasn't just because he was a boy, and Hunters all rejected the opposite gender. Nico was just as wary of Zoë, and Annabeth wasn't surprised. She was the leader of a group that had allowed his sister to go her death, after all.

But no matter how tense their atmosphere was, they began to limp onwards, Zoë leading the way. The tunnel was long and dark, the only light reflecting off the waters and glittering dimly. That was the only way they were able to travel: following the sound of the water.

And then there was a small, cool breeze, and Zoë's pace quickened. She was the first to burst out into another chamber, but she froze immediately, her toes brushing against the edge of a deep cavern. "Halt," she ordered to the others behind her.

The cliff was too wide to jump, but there were numerous thin strings and lines crisscrossing the mouth to become a huge web-like structure.

Cautiously, the Hunter picked up a fallen stone on the ground, and tossed it towards the web. The stone fell through the strings, breaking them immediately.

Annabeth stared at the strings, then at the tiny nails stamped into the edge of the cliff that the strings looped around and over, creating a gigantic tapestry.

A tapestry.

And suddenly, it clicked.

She carefully set Nico on his own two feet, and gently pushed past Zoë to examine the impressive handicraft. The strings were more condensed around the sides, thinner in the middle, creating a frame. When she pressed down on the strings on the sides, she found that they held, and did not break.

Glancing back, and noting that Nico was definitely too tired to shadow-travel, Annabeth strummed her fingers over the strings, and the tapestry rippled.

"What are you doing?" Zoë demanded as Annabeth hooked her fingers around a line and unhooking it from the nail. It was soft as silk, and just as strong, and she began to unhook more, then replacing them around different nails before she answered, "Weaving."

She left them hanging there. That was all they needed to know.

So Annabeth worked carefully, fingers deft and gentle, and the strings seemed to _breathe_ as they were slowly untangled from the mass of pattern-less weave-work into something… hopeful.

Because as Annabeth worked, it became evident what the strings created. Letters, words, large, but strong, and enough to let them walk across it, where the beginning of another tunnel waited.

They had hope. They could do this.

But then slowly, the cheer dwindled as the words appeared. And they weren't just words.

They were commands, warnings: two words that changed everything.

 _Look Up._

And so they did.

Right into the frothing, pinching mouth of a gigantic, eight-legged spider.

 **Review!**


	17. Monsters

**XVI**

Annabeth was really, really, really embarrassed to say it, but she screamed like a little girl. Honestly, she had no idea how girly and shrill her voice is until just now.

Annabeth clamped her mouth shut, and despite everything, her face burned in shame. She hated spiders, so badly. They were awful, creepy, crawling creatures that had no place on the face of this Earth. Nico was trembling from fear and fatigue. Zoe was far more composed, readying her bow, though her face was awfully pale.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" the spider hissed. Her voice was dry and raspy, and a cool gust of air that stank like rotten pastries washed over them.

"Y-yes," Annabeth managed.

The spider lunched, mandibles snapping. Annabeth, Nico, and Zoe rolled out of the way, shoes skidding over the slick ground. In a smooth move, the spider landed onto the floor, mouth foaming and beady black eyes glittering with malice. Annabeth fumbled for her dagger, mind numb. The spider was huge, the size of a car, covered in ragged black and brown fur. Each leg was coated in a smooth metal, making it impossible to damage. One snap from its jaws could cut her cleanly in half, not to mention the venom which was dripping from its jaws and making very dangerous hissing sounds as it splattered on the floor.

"Who are you?" Zoe yelled.

"I'm Arachne," the spider rasped. "The Guardian of the Parthenos."

"Well, glad that you're into your job," Annabeth said loudly, feeling kind of proud that her voice remained steady. "But there's really no need to… well… you know, guard that Parthenos. We can just take it and go, and leave you alone. It'd be really messy if we do it the other way, with us killing you and all that…"

Arachne peered at Annabeth. Annabeth forced herself to smile easily.

"You're the one that screamed." Arachne said curiously.

Annabeth felt her smile wobble. Oh yeah, she's feeling really bad about that one girly scream right now.

"So?" Annabeth choked out, still forcing herself to hold that smile.

"I shouldn't be afraid of you." Arachne let out a croaking laugh. "You should fear me!"

For a moment, Annabeth wasn't sure what to do. Laugh? Cry? Run? Fight?

"Forget about the chit-chat!" Zoe yelled. "Are we going to fight or not?"

"That one's brave," Arachne gave Annabeth a leering grin. "I think I'll kill her first."

With that, the spider whirled away from Annabeth and shot towards Zoe. Annabeth had to marvel at how quickly Arachne moved. It was like watching a jungle cat leap and pounce silently through a jungle floor, jaws snapping. Zoe stood her ground, releasing the arrow, the silvery streak heading straight for Arachne's skull. But Arachne was astonishingly fast for her bulk, lowering her head a fraction of an inch, allowing the arrow to skim past and bury itself in a tangle of webs in the far corner of the chamber.

Suddenly, Arachne screamed. A hairy, wriggling leg landed onto the floor, still writhing. Nico stood there shakily, his Stygian Iron sword gleaming with greasy blood.

"Nico, move!" Zoe screamed.

But Nico was too slow. First, he had shadow-traveled all the way to Italy. Then, he had defeated an army of ghosts. Now, he had just whacked a leg off a monster spider. He was probably exhausted beyond measure, and right now, the monster spider was about to eat him.

Arachne charged, slamming into Nico. Nico didn't make a sound as he was thrown back by the force, cracking his head against the floor and lying very, very still. Snarling, Arachne advanced, mandibles snapping...

Zoe darted forward like an antelope, waving her bow, before running off. "Hey, you fudging idiot!"

Arachne hissed, turning to chase after Zoe. She dodged as Arachne landed on the spot where she stood, rolling a few feet away and back on her feet in seconds.

Annabeth's mind raced as she hurried over to Nico. She felt his neck for a pulse, probably giving him a few extra bruises in the process, but she sagged with relief when she felt a faint pulse. She dragged Nico into a little corner, where he would hopefully be safe from the fighting.

Obviously, there was no way they're going to kill Arachne when it came to physical combat. Yeah, sure, there were two of them and only one of her, but against a monstrously-sized monstrosity with fangs and web-slinging abilities, victory? Not going to happen.

Naturally, that left it down to wits. Annabeth's specialty.

Annabeth scanned the chamber, and her eyes stopped at a massive tangle of webs not far from where Zoe and Arachne were battling. Was it possible for Zoe to lure Arachne there, maybe for Arachne to fall back and hopefully get tangled in her own web? Annabeth dismissed the thought almost instantly. Webs were Arachne's home, for goodness sake! She wouldn't be affected.

Hanging on the cavern ceiling were stalagmites, dripping droplets of icy water and glittering like stars. What if a stalagmite just so happened to fall on Arachne...?

A plan formed in Annabeth's head. Zoe had her bow and arrows, and with one well-placed shot, Zoe could get a stalagmite crashing down onto Arachne, which left the job of leading her there to the spot to Annabeth…

Annabeth swallowed her fear. "Zoe!"

Zoe's head snapped towards Annabeth's voice. Annabeth rushed over, whispering, "Stalagmite!" before pushing Zoe out of the way. Zoe leapt back, understanding instantly, her eyes scanning the cavern ceiling for a sharp but weak stalagmite.

Arachne whirled to face Annabeth.

"Giving your friend a break?" Arachne hissed.

Annabeth swore at the spider, and knew that she would have to wash her mouth thoroughly with soap once she got back to camp.

Arachne roared in rage, barreling forward like a freight train. Annabeth scuttled ahead, skidding left and right, feeling ridiculously like an ant fleeing from a boot. Those heavy metal claws thudded dangerously close to her, and the stench of rotting bread was making Annabeth woozy.

"Here!" Zoe howled.

With a last burst of strength, Annabeth hurtled towards the sound of Zoe's voice.

Behind her, there was a crunch.

A plume of dust flurried into the air.

There was a shriek.

"Annabeth?" Zoe's anxious voice came from the darkness.

"Here!" Annabeth croaked. "I'm safe. You?"

Painfully, Annabeth hauled herself to her feet, staggering forward. Zoe was looping around a massive pile of rocks and dead spider parts towards her.

Then, Annabeth promptly turned around and threw up.

"It's all right, it's all right," Zoe stroked Annabeth's hair and patted her on the back as she hurled her guts out. Once it was over, Annabeth straightened shakily, eyeing Arachne's corpse. A stalagmite had crushed her, the point tearing through her back. The eight legs were askew, but one of them was reaching out towards the two girls, lifeless black eyes promising revenge. A thick blue fluid leaked from the wounds, gathering in a thick puddle, and Annabeth nearly threw up again.

"Good?" Zoe asked.

"Good," Annabeth agreed.

The two of them stood there in silence for a moment longer.

"Let's get out of here," Zoe said. "This is just… this place, everything is just _wrong_."

Annabeth agreed. "Let's get Nico and the Parthenos and go."

But oh no, life couldn't give them one freaking break. You'd think that after hacking apart a giant spider they'd be able to get their prize and get the frack out of there, but oh no. They weren't allowed to rest just yet.

The temperature in the chamber plummeted, and the shadows writhed on the walls. Invisible spiders scuttled along Annabeth's spine, and despite herself, she began shivering.

Zoe, on the other hand, was pale and shaking. Facing Arachne, Zoe was brave and strong, but now… Zoe looked as if she was staring at her worst nightmare coming to life.

"No," Zoe croaked.

"What is it?" Annabeth demanded.

The shadows peeled themselves off the walls, darkening like ink, gathering, moving to the center of the room, gathering and solidifying into a hulking humanoid shape, growing taller and stronger, until it was no longer a mess of darkness but a person standing there.

The room seemed a little brighter without the shadows, allowing Annabeth to see the figure clearly. The person was definitely a man, with broad shoulders, slick black hair, and a rather good-looking face, but the cruelty that promised drowning puppies destroyed all the good-looking-ness of him. A very expensive coat and suit made him look like a businessman from hell.

"Atlas," Zoe whispered. "My father."

Atlas grinned, flashing a set of dazzling white teeth as he stepped forward. "Zoe, good to see you."

Zoe spat at him. Atlas didn't look hurt at all, pretending that it didn't happen as he crossed the distance between them easily. He reached out to brush her cheek, but Zoe slapped his hand away. The crack echoed through the eerily empty chamber, sharp and cold.

"Stay away from me," Zoe snarled.

Atlas smiled, but he did tuck his hands firmly behind his back. Zoe and Annabeth took a step back, with Zoe shuddering furiously.

"Either way," Atlas said simply. "We all know that you adorable children aren't getting the Parthenos. You defeated Arachne, which is really nice, but I don't think you can defeat me. So I'd love to give a bit of advice – give up now, save yourself the shame and trouble…"

Zoe moved so quickly Annabeth didn't have any time to protest. Zoe sprang forward, knives flashing, lashing out, a silvery blade smashing right into Atlas's chest, buried to the hilt, blood growing like a flower across the suit.

Atlas's fist smashed into Zoe's face, the force sending her tumbling across the floor. Without even hesitating, Atlas tore the knife from his chest, the force spraying a mess of blood.

"A very pitiful attempt, but kind of amusing to watch," Atlas said, turning to glance at Annabeth. Annabeth knew that she should be readying her weapons, taking inventory, looking for weaknesses, but the only thing that she could register in her mind was Zoe being slapped aside like a rag doll.

Atlas hurled the knife towards her. It was pure instinct that saved her. Annabeth was suddenly grateful about the drop and roll lessons Percy and Chiron drilled into her head. She hit the ground, somersaulting into position, and aimed a kick at Atlas. Of course, what could a tiny foot do against the indestructible Atlas?

Atlas grasped onto Annabeth's ankle, and something _snapped_. Annabeth choked in pain as fire shot through her leg. She tried stumbling back, retreating, but her struggles only made her vision zoom in and out of focus, blurring everything around her.

Atlas yanked, and Annabeth nearly blacked out. She felt herself crumple as she hit the stone several meters away, her ruined ankle in agony.

Shakily, Annabeth hauled herself up on her elbows. Atlas was coming, and in full strength, she would have thought of something to say – to persuade him to spare her life or something, but another wave of pain shot through her, jumbling her ideas, but somehow sparing the thought of "I'm going to die."

But wait. Death was a lot faster, right? Annabeth's vision cleared enough for her to see two silhouettes fighting, thrashing. It was Zoe, fighting Atlas.

"No," Annabeth croaked.

Watching in horror, she saw Zoe lash out at Atlas, sending him reeling. As he struggled to regain his balance, Zoe unsheathed a shimmering blade. It was definitely a different weapon from her usual hunting knives. It dazzled like crystal, almost as if it were holding the power of compressed stars. Raising it above her head, she brought it down, driving it right into Atlas's throat, but at the same time, Zoe released a horrible choking sob. Atlas had a massive sword, hilt at his hip, the tip protruding from Zoe's abdomen.

Annabeth screamed. And like toy soldiers, the two of them crumpled to the ground.

Annabeth ignored the pain, forcing herself to move, to crawl forward, her fingers scrabbling on the floor, pulling herself forward. She reached them faster than she thought, shoving aside Atlas's body and onto Zoe's, fingers searching for a pulse, but there was nothing.

"No, no, no," Annabeth cried, but there was no denying the fact – Zoe was gone.


	18. Message

**XVII**

The winds whipped at her face, the shadows seemed to be leering at her. Invisible hands grabbed and tore at her in every direction, making Annabeth want to scream but afraid to open her mouth, so she simply clutched the Athena Parthenos tighter to her chest.

She had found the statue after rummaging through Atlas's dead body, trying to find something that might be able to help them. It was a statue made of pure gold, as long as her arm and five times as thick. A woman's regal face stared at her with unblinking eyes when she pulled it out from under Atlas's shirt, and though it was heavy, the weight was reassuring and the metal was comfortingly warm.

It took her some time to wake Nico, who had a pounding headache. Through the pain, he managed to set Annabeth's ankle, but had nothing to secure it, so they prompted to return to camp as soon as possible, not only to present the Athena Parthenos as a sign of peace or get medical help, but to also reveal the news of death of Zoë, the lieutenant of the Hunters.

"Dead, you say?" Thalia scoffed when she heard the news. " _The_ Zoë is dead? That's absurd."

"But it's true," Annabeth objected quietly, her eyes trained on the white gauze tightly wrapped around her healing ankle. Campers from Cabin Seven had done their magic on her, and so it should be fine and functioning in a few more hours.

"I know it's true," Thalia snapped, her electric blue eyes crackling with suppressed ire. Then she bit her lip, and shook her head. "I know," she repeated one more time, her voice suddenly weak and small, before standing abruptly from where she had sat beside Annabeth, and stalking away purposefully to gods know where, the younger girl staring, puzzled, at her retreating form.

"The Athena Parthenos? The real thing?" Reyna, the dark haired girl who was a co-leader of the 'Roman' Hunted examined the heavy golden statue, scrutinizing its authenticity. Annabeth nodded, trying to ignore the various glares and suspicious stares drilling a hole into her back, along with the clink of hidden weapons and rising tensions. After a long stretch of silence, Reyna nodded slowly. "I will have to show this to Jason." The golden haired boy who had seemed slightly mad, Annabeth presumed. "He's the one who has been doing… this-this _research_ ," the dark haired girl spat the word out as if it was bitter, "so he should know. Give us two days; we'll have our answer by then."

But before two days were up, the Greek Hunted found themselves invaded by the Hunters, who filled up Cabin Eight and pretended nothing was wrong. Nico couldn't stand a single minute with anyone wearing silver parkas, and Annabeth found it increasingly difficult to find him to try to thank him for aiding her in the quest, until finally, he seemed to have disappeared altogether.

In the end, Thalia decided to help Annabeth and stormed Cabin Thirteen – Nico's cabin, only to find it empty. The gray-eyed girl was both confused and suspicious, while Thalia was more disappointed, as she had lost the shocking reveal of her new position as the lieutenant of the Hunters, replacing Zoë.

When the two days were over, nearing sunset, one guard gave a shout as he saw two familiar figures: one taller with golden blonde hair, the other with dark hair tightly braided back, and Annabeth, Chiron, and Percy left the camp with two extra guards: Travis Stoll and Piper McLean, to greet the two leaders of the Romans.

Reyna had the Athena Parthenos tucked under her arm, and she gave a curt nod at Annabeth, who nodded back. She then handed the statue to Jason, a teenage boy with golden skin, golden hair – neatly slicked back, unlike the last time they saw him – and strangely familiar electric blue eyes, who made a beeline straight to Chiron.

"I'm impressed," was the first words she heard out of his mouth. "This is the real thing."

"Of course it is," Percy was the one who retorted. "What else could it be?"

If Jason was a less dignified character, Annabeth thought he might have sneered. "Knowing you _Greeks-_ " and then there was a short but sudden pause as his eyes caught sight of Piper standing, frowning lightly, a little behind Percy, and the rushed words that spilled out afterwards was not as spiteful or harsh as the first three did, "you might have carved it out of a piece of rock and covered it with gold."

Annabeth decided not to comment on how stupid that was (though she couldn't blame Jason for getting a little tongue-tied; Piper _was_ quite stunning. In her own way). They were here to negotiate for peace, not continue an unwanted war.

And when the tension finally eased, that was what they did. It took a long time, so long that Chiron decided to bring the discussion into the warehouse, where there was spare furniture and was more comfortable. The Romans brought their own requests, which both Percy and Annabeth were unhappy with, but the latter was smart enough not to voice it aloud.

The former, however, not really.

"You want _us_ to carve out _more_ land from _rocks_ to give you guys living space?" the dark-haired boy concluded incredulously.

"No." Yes, please do clarify yourselves. " _You_ will let us in, and _we_ will do the carving."

"But we might need some help. As you can see, most of the people we have left are parents and children. We also need to know how it's done." Annabeth was coming to like Reyna quite a lot. She was a level-headed, strong, independent figure in a group of survivors.

"We can't we just merge properly? Into one?" Percy complained.

Jason was quick to retort. "Because we have our own systems and cultures-"

" _Cultures!_ " repeated Percy, scoffing. "What are we, countries? We're not kingdoms or nations here, blondie-"

"That's enough, boys." Thank the gods for Chiron. Nothing would be solved otherwise.

In the end, it was agreed that the Roman camp would be connected but remain separate at the same time, and most of the empty lands at the end of the underground chamber was given to them, so they wouldn't have to do as much digging, though still a lot of building.

It was for the best, Annabeth thought.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Their first 'outing' was more like an alliance test. The moment Chiron announced that another supply raid would be needed, one person stepped out from each group. Annabeth had gone on enough raids to not be nervous anymore, and Thalia was happy to tag along for the excitement. Reyna was constantly curious about how they survive, and just for fun, Annabeth pointed out Piper, who was still a relatively new, confused camper, so that she could experience another aspect of the life of a Hunted.

The four girls were armed and ready to visit the less-than-legal source of their supplies when they heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being fired. But it didn't seem like it was aimed towards them, and when the sound of breaking glass quickly followed, they gave into a sprint down the street. The house with the broken window was very normal-looking, with white walls and a blue-tiled roof. Each of them quickly pulled out a camfoil suit, as campers of Cabin Nine called them. The moment the girls strapped the cloak-like garment around themselves, they became near invisible, no more than a flicker of movement that could be mistaken as a trick of light. The specifics of the technology were known to no one but Cabin Nine, and though Annabeth was curious, she decided not to pry as long as handy stuff like these continues to stay well stocked.

Thalia was the one who picked the lock of the front door, and they sneaked into the house with the stealth of ninjas. The house was small, and the sounds of struggle soaked through the walls. They followed it, arriving at the living room, where-

"Stop!" Piper's voice was laced with magic – charmspeak – but she sounded almost horrified, and Annabeth understood why. Children should not be able to fight like that. They should not seem so eager to kill. Thalia was almost startled, and she reacted quickly, an arrow notched and released between one breath and another.

The only adult in the room – a dark haired man that two children had been fighting against – fell to the ground with a sickening thud, Thalia's silver arrow through his head.

The children – one girl one boy, similar enough in appearance to suggest that they were siblings, perhaps even twins – looked both scared and confused, and Reyna was the first to recover. "We killed that man only because he had seemed the most dangerous," she explained.

"We come in peace," the girl, obviously the smarter one, called out, her eyes darting around nervously as she hastily dropped her weapons. The boy quickly followed suit.

"Good." Thalia sounded guilty. "Don't you even dare think of moving or we'll put an arrow in your head before you could blink." Her camfoil suit rustled as she unclasped it, stepping into view, and the other three girls imitated her actions.

"Stay still," Piper told them.

"Names," demanded Reyna.

"I am Artemis Olympia," the girl stated. "This is my younger twin brother, Apollo."

Reyna, taking over the role of leader, nodded to Annabeth and Thalia. "Search them."

They obliged, and the moment they were done, Artemis blurted out, "Who are you?"

Reyna hesitated for a second before stepping forward and holding out a hand. "I am Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, the leader of the Roman Hunted."

Annabeth would have felt annoyed by the fact that Reyna playing leader _and_ revealing lots of information about themselves had the twins not distracted her with the strangest request: to let them send an email.

She wouldn't have refused even if she hadn't noticed the desperation and sadness and longing in their eyes: emotions too deep and complicated for children. And later, when she looked back to the Sent emails, she guiltily read their message and thought that maybe, just maybe they could've helped the twins more than allowing them one last message to their sister.

* * *

 **Bleh. Crappy chapter is crappy. Oh well. Reviews are appreciated.**


	19. Thanatos

**XVIII**

"It doesn't matter. We're safe here in the Camp."

Annabeth could feel her frustration rising, but she took a deep breath to keep her temper under control. "But even if the Camp is safe, missions to get supplies, especially the pills for the Injected, will be more difficult. With the amount of monster attacks nowadays, the success rate of each mission would decrease."

"I just think it's strange, honestly," said Percy, frowning. "Sure, we've got monster attacks before, but never like this: never so intense. A horde of empousai at once plus several telekhines? That's unheard of. We lost two campers, and another one was critically injured. Not to mention that the attacks are getting dangerously close to the Camp."

Reyna was the next one who spoke. "We'd have to increase the amount of guards."

"But we already did! At this rate there'd be so many guards in the warehouse the camps would be empty. Why don't we all just live outside, guarding the camp then?" Of course, Drew Tanaka was not supportive.

"That's too obvious. We'll be found out." _Why were some people just so dense?_

"There's not a lot of people around here, though, are there? That's why we have to travel a long way for each mission."

"Children." Chiron knocked a hoof on the wooden ground. "I believe we're getting off topic."

"We are," Katie said, her expression uneasy. "Did anyone notice that the monsters are getting harder to kill?"

Connor and Travis Stoll shared a look. "Last time we tried to rob a store-"

" _Stoll!_ "

"Listen to me finish, Gardner." Travis was unusually patient. "Either way, we were trying to get a crate of coke and box of chips for a secret party in the- OW!"

"What secret party?" asked Will Solace.

"Nothing," Connor replied hastily, pretending that he hadn't elbowed his brother in the gut. "But well, we had the stuff, and we were trying to leave when two draconae came up to us, threatening to tear us apart. Naturally, we dropped the food and began to fight. I stabbed one in the chest, but instead of exploding into gold dust like usual, the wound healed almost immediately, and we had to retreat."

"Yes, we know that the monsters heal naturally. It is part of their genetic information," Travis added, "but we had given it fatal injuries, and it still healed right back up."

"Then how do we kill it?" Piper frowned, chewing her bottom lip. "Can they even be killed anymore?"

That question brought silence into the meeting room. Campers shared uneasy glances, and some unconsciously reached for their weapons.

"Let's just pray that they can," Annabeth finally answered grimly. "Because either we kill them, or they kill us. And if they can't die… then we'll be the ones who do."

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Leo was a genius. Percy wasn't even ashamed to admit it because the boy truly was a genius.

"Something is seriously wrong, Leo," Percy was lamenting. "Why _won't_ the monsters die?"

"I don't know, man," was Leo's reply. "The scientists couldn't _possibly_ have upgraded them. It's _totally_ impossible to change their DNA and enhance their healing abilities."

Percy did not catch the sarcasm in the mechanic's voice. "I know! This is like some Sherlock Holmes book – not that I've read any before – where the mystery seems utterly impossible and you have no idea and-"

"Percy," Leo interrupted. "Percy, you're an idiot."

Naturally, the other teenager was very much insulted. "Now why'd you say that, dude? I thought we were friends!"

"We are, but it is the very delicate friendship bond between a well-educated, handsome young man and an idiot."

"Fine," Percy sighed resignedly. "What is it, Leo? There's obviously something ticking in that giant brain of yours."

"I already told you." The Latino boy spun around on his spinning chair in front of the only computer in the camp while his friend thought long and hard when he mentioned any new, brilliant, mind-blowing ideas that Leo tend to have. "Stop it, Kelp Head, you'll hurt yourself if you continue to think so hard. I told you, my theory is that the scientists have upgraded the DNA of the monsters they've created and enhanced their defense and healing abilities by at least 50% if they are suddenly able to withstand fatal wounds, healing almost immediately. Our battle strategies no longer work because we studied the original monsters' DNA blueprint we hacked from the Giants, but now, the monsters no longer have the same weaknesses. The only plan I can suggest right now is to re-hack into the scientist computers and re-download the blueprints to study. Don't worry though, that's what I'm doing right now."

"What?" Percy seemed to suddenly snap out of a daze. "What were you doing? Sorry, I was following along until you mentioned statistics, and then I just couldn't anymore. Do you mind repeating what you just said?"

Leo was not impressed. "Yes, I mind very much."

"So… what are you doing?"

"Typing in front of a computer. Shut up, Aquaboy."

Percy frowned, but decided to follow Leo's orders and shut up. Instead, he began to watch words flash by in the computer screen as Leo imputed command after command to the computer.

Finally, Leo decided to explain. "I've actually tried to get into the Giants' computers several days ago, because our data needed serious upgrades, but they've put up these super annoying bugs and alarms and tripping wires, and I'm _still_ not in. That's why I've decided to try something new: I'm going to stroll in casually, pretending to be one of them."

Though this made absolutely no sense to Percy, he remained silent, hoping his friend would clarify, which he didn't, because in Leo's eyes, he had been clear enough.

It was really very simply, actually. Connection may not be the strongest when you're underground, but one strand was enough for Leo, who could make do with anything he could get his hands on. This time, he wasn't tiptoeing around the wall, or trying to scale it and swing over the edge; he was going walk on the main road wearing a lab coat and glasses, and he was going to knock on the gate and invite himself in. At times, hacking was like weaving. You add layer after layer, connecting strands, pulling lines so everything created a picture or pattern and everything fitted together like puzzle pieces. That was what Leo did: he wove an act of a scientist, and just a few more steps…

"Ahí está!" Leo flung his arms wide, kicking back in his chair, letting the wheels carry him a few meters away from the table. "I'm in!" And then he was immediately back at work, because computers were smart, and he wasn't going to stay for too long: it might leave a mark, and the last thing they wanted was a clue for the Giants to track them down. The files took too long to download and transfer, and the moment every letter and detail had fitted into their old computer in the Camp, Leo nearly flew out, all the while careful to not leave any traces of his intrusion behind.

But the files were in front of them – the answers were in front of them, and it barely took ten minutes: problem solved.

Being a genius was simply too awesome sometimes.

"Now…" Leo cracked his knuckles, grinning devilishly at the computer screen. This is where scanners come in handy: they just need to find out what has been altered, and-

"They're exactly the same."

It was Percy who spoke, because Leo was too baffled for words. It was impossible. The monsters _had_ to have been upgraded because if not, then what? Evolution? That takes hundreds of years, and for all he knew, the monsters didn't reproduce.

"How much of the files did you download, Leo?"

The mechanic blinked up at his fellow camper. "The entire thing, basically, anything that might be remotely related to the monsters, I've got 'em."

"So not just the DNA?"

"No, of course not. Physical traits, weaknesses, everything, though if their DNA hasn't been altered, I doubt anything else has. There are no new invented monsters either."

"I want you to check every single file there, Leo." The great, admirable leader that had led the Camp to victory through war was emerging again, and truth to be spoken, it made Leo a little uncomfortable to see his friend take on such an intense personality twist. "Organize the information, re-upload it. I want it by tonight. Can you do it?"

"Um- Yes sir!" Secretary and manager work wasn't very enjoyable, but the boss's word was it, and it wasn't very difficult either. By tonight? Psshh, Uncle Leo could have it by evening.

Which he did, and he did not bring good news.

"…Ta… tahons?" Percy squinted at the documents in front of him, struggling through his dyslexia to piece the mess of letters into coherent words.

"The translated version is on the back."

"Oh." Percy smiled bashfully and flipped the page, taking a moment to skim through the words. "Thanatos," he spoke finally, his voice grim.

"Otherwise known as Project Resurrection," continued Leo, who had incredulously read through the document enough times to have it nearly memorized. "It's a machine that helps monsters rapidly heal. There were no changes to the DNA because the monsters were originally controlled by machinery anyway, so Thanatos is simply a new part of the set. With it doing its work – and still strengthening, nonetheless – not only will the monsters heal, soon, they would be rising from the dead, crawling out of their own ashes."

"We have to get rid of it," Percy concluded, clutching the papers tightly. "That's the only way to do it."

Leo confirmed it. "Thanatos is not a computer: I can't hack into it. I can't track it either. To destroy it, you'd have to manually track it down and physically break it apart."

Percy nodded. "It's okay. We can do this."

The Latino boy blinked. "We? Oh no, Percy, not in your wildest dreams. I'm not going."

 **το** **κυνήγι**

"Me neither."

"You are kidding me!" Percy cried, grabbing fistfuls of his messy black hair. "Why in Hades _not_ , Reyna? You're awesome, you're the best! Can't you just go on this teeny, tiny, easy, insignificant quest with me?"

"Absolutely not," answered Reyna curtly and brutally. "My Camp needs me. We may be unified, but we're still separate. I'm not leaving Jason here to run things by himself. He's been… distracted lately."

"You-You can't do this to me! This is critical!"

"Half a minute ago you called the quest insignificant and easy. Now it's suddenly critical?"

"Reyna-"

"Why don't you go ask Annabeth? I thought you were dating?"

"Well," Percy hesitated slightly. "Well, yes, but she went on that quest for the Athena Parthenos not too long ago, though it seems like ages. I don't want to drag her on another one."

Reyna sighed. "Fine. How about this: I give you two of my best soldiers. They are relatively new, and might be slightly inexperienced, but they have the potential, and since it's such an _easy, insignificant_ quest, I'm sure that's enough."

"You are kidding me."

"No, I am not." Reyna crossed the room, pulling the door open and preparing to leave the conversation. "You will wait for them at the warehouse tomorrow morning, seven o'clock. Their names are Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque, and if either of them dies on this quest, I'll have your head. _Constat?_ "

"Yes ma'am," Percy squeaked, and with her deep violet cape snapping behind her and glinting golden armor, the praetor of the Roman Hunted successfully removed herself from a bothersome conversation.

And Percy Jackson couldn't help but wondering what exactly he'd gotten himself tangled up with.

* * *

 **Please Review!**


	20. Phineas

**Hey guys! It's been forever, and I'm so sorry, but it's finally here! Please review! They make us happy. Thanks!**

 **XIX**

The next morning, at approximately five o'clock sharp, Percy was woken by two Roman intruders. They woke him roughly, dragged him out of bed, forced him to pack, before hauling him off to a quest of doom as he howled his injustice for the world to hear.

No, not really.

Percy woke up when he felt someone shaking him. He cracked open an eye blearily, only to see two hulking figures standing over him. He panicked instantly, reaching for Riptide, and wielding it before him, the bronze glow illuminating the dark dormitory room.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Percy yelled.

Amazingly enough, nobody woke up.

The two intruders raised their arms so quickly they looked like superheroes ready for takeoff.

"Whoa, chill!" the larger dude said.

"We're the Romans Reyna sent to help you on your quest," the smaller figure said. She was a girl.

"Oh," Percy sat up, lowering his sword and peering at his watch. "But dude, it's only five!"

Even in the darkness, Percy swore they glanced at each other.

"Uh… that's usually when our quests begin – early in the morning, where we're fresh and ready for the fight," the guy said.

"Oh, fine, fine." Percy shooed them out the room. "Go get some food or something. I need to change and stuff."

With faces full of baffled confusion, the poor soldiers left the room, clattering towards the cafeteria. Percy really hoped they didn't mind that he didn't join them for breakfast till six. He really did need the extra fifty-nine minutes of sleep.

Sure enough, the two centurions were there, staring dejectedly at their empty plates as Percy stuffed three sausages, two eggs, three bagels with cream cheese, and a bottle of coke down his gullet. It wasn't until he had crammed a variety of snacks and soda into his backpack before he actually took a good look at the poor Romans who were now thoroughly confused and clearly uncomfortable.

Percy took a swig of apple juice to wash his meal down. "So, uh, hey, I'm Percy. You guys are…?"

"I'm Hazel Levesque." The little girl with cinnamon-colored hair, chocolatey skin, and bright golden eyes said.

"I'm Frank Zhang," the large Asian boy said. He was stocky, definitely athletic, but his face was still quite round, as if he hadn't lost the baby fat just quite yet.

"Nice to meet you guys," Percy said. "What's the plan?"

Hazel and Frank glanced at each other. If they were Greeks, they would have slaughtered Percy fifty-nine minutes ago. It's probably the fact that they were actually the newbies in the camp that made them be somewhat tentative.

"While you were… packing," Frank said carefully. "Hazel and I made a quick plan of what we might do."

"Great!"

"You see, we gotta get to Portland," Hazel took over. "There's this dude called Phineas there. He's blind, but he has the power of sight. If we get to him, we might be able to ask him to help us out, get him to give us the location of Thanatos, and how to destroy him."

"Excellent plan!" Percy said immediately.

"R-really?" Frank said, stunned.

Maybe the cramming was making his stomach – and head – hurt a teeny bit. "Yep! That's great! Let's head out now!"

"But there's another problem, though," Hazel said anxiously. "What about transportation? We didn't think that far ahead yet…"

"Don't worry about transportation," Percy said. "I got it."

"You do?" Frank said skeptically.

"Of course, have some faith." Percy squared his shoulders and burped loudly. "Does anyone happen to have a taxi to the docks?"

το κυνήγι

An hour later, the group arrived at the boats. A fleet of them were lined up along the beach, bobbing in the lightly frothing waves, with a few workers stumbling sleepily as they made preparations for the first wave of tourists.

"Come on!" Percy said cheerfully, leading the two Romans onto the nearest boat. Fortunately, there was nobody there. With one quick slice, the ropes were off, and they were heading into the open sea.

"Isn't that stealing?" Hazel asked anxiously.

"Nah," Percy waved a hand. "I'm sure they'll be able to afford another boat."

"Are you sure?" Frank said. "I thought boats are expensive."

"It's all right, don't worry so much. Geez, you guys are really making me nervous." Percy laughed. He closed his eyes, and concentrated. Using his powers were really great, but there was something truly different when he was out with the ocean and nature. There seemed to be a song, a low echoing that reverberated through the world, filled with power but greatly subdued. And in a way, he was the only one who could release it.

The waters churned, the power leaking through. Percy felt his brow furrow, and with one last rumble, the boat shot through the sea like a jet plane, leaving a streak of steam behind them. Hazel and Frank stumbled below deck, and Percy was quite sorry to hear that Hazel appeared quite sick, but she should be able to heal soon enough. He made his way to the prow, throwing out his arms, the wind rushing through his system as the boat advanced towards the sky.

Just as quickly as it started, the power faded, and the boat slowed to a stop, bumping lightly onto a mossy shore.

"And we're here!" Percy announced. Grumbling, Hazel and Frank emerged, significantly greener than before.

Once the high faded somewhat, Percy looked around him and whistled. In contrast to the warm, humid camp, this place was pretty chilly, the air crisp and cold. The area was somewhat swampy, with a carpet of decaying leaves and snaking roots. Birds chittered among the drooping trees, and the sky was in a rather ominous shade.

"This is Portland?" Hazel said.

Percy nodded.

"All right." Hazel hopped off the boat, staggering around for a bit before finally grasping onto a tree and taking a deep breath. The sickly pallor faded off her face as she began trudging through the trees. "Let's go find civilization, and hopefully, Phineas with it."

"Sure," Frank followed her immediately, leaving Percy trailing behind them after he secured the boat. In moments, they were all trekking through the woods, brushing aside brambles and hacking through the undergrowth. Percy expected them to hike for at least a good few miles, but in less than one, the forest thinned into a little town.

There was nobody there, the houses with their lights off, and curtains smothering any light that was on. Doors and windows were shut tightly against the cold, and the entire place was as silent as a ghost town.

A cluster of food carts sat before them, ranging from the most standard American pizza to some rare Pacific delicacy. The aroma wafting from the stalls was enough to make Percy's still-full stomach grumble, and he wouldn't have hesitated to snag a burger or two, if it weren't for the guardian of the snacks. An old man sat at a table, munching hungrily on a plate of kebabs which only succeeded in dripping more oil onto his greasy bathrobe. A rather wicked-looking weed-whacker sat beside him, and there seemed to be chunks of dried blood on the tip. And as the man turned, Percy gulped. He was blind, with watery milky eyes, and the fact that ketchup or other sauces that was smeared onto his cheeks made it seem as if he was crying blood didn't help at all.

Percy glanced at Hazel and Frank. "Anyone interested in going first?" he whispered.

Before anyone could actually reply, the man grinned, placing down his food. "I see you children hiding there."

"Rats, I thought we were silent," Frank grumbled, making his way over. "But wait, how can you see in the first place?"

"I have my ways," the old man said mysteriously. He grinned, and Percy grimaced at the state of his teeth. "I am Phineas, the seer of all. What have you come here for?"

"The food," Percy volunteered.

"No, not the food." Hazel countered. She faced Phineas and spoke so respectfully Percy's respect for her increased exponentially. "We would like to find Thanatos. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes," Phineas said.

"That's wonderful!" Hazel gushed. "Would you mind if you told us…"

"No." Phineas said.

"Why not?" Hazel asked.

"I want something in return. But it's clearly nothing you can give to me!" Phineas sounded absolutely delighted.

"We're very determined." Hazel sounded very determined and convincing. "We've done some crazy stuff before. I'm sure we could do whatever you ask us to do."

"All right," Phineas said smugly. "Bring me Beyonce's next unreleased album."

"Dude!" Percy protested. "She literally just released Lemonade. She won't be pumping another one out for another year, at least!"

"Too bad," Phineas was openly grinning now. Percy truly wished he would brush his teeth. "No new album, no location."

Frank suddenly tugged onto Percy's arm, gesturing wildly towards the forest. Annoyed, Percy glanced over. There was a flicker of metal among the trees, almost as if it were beckoning them over.

"Phineas, I need to use the bathroom," Percy announced. "Bye!"

With that, he took off into the forest after the flicker. Hazel and Frank apologized quickly before dashing off too, to the sound of Phineas's laughter.

They dove deep into the woods, trying to avoid the whacking branches. They could never see the exact shape of their caller, just glimpses of metal among the green. Once Percy thought he couldn't run anymore, the flickers stopped, and they staggered to a halt, panting heavily.

"Who's that?" Frank gasped for breath.

"No idea," Percy peered around him, turning in a circle. There was nobody around them, apart from the chirping of insects and the rustling of the leaves.

"What if this is a trap?" Hazel fretted. Her hand reached for her cavalry sword.

"Not a trap."

Everyone drew their weapons, forming a circle, eyes scanning and ready to fight.

"Not a trap."

There was the sound of fluttering and rustling, and rather ungracefully, something fell from the trees and landed before them.

It was a cyborg. It was a girl, bone-thin, with plain brown hair, an even plainer face, and wearing a dress that looked as if it were made of a burlap sack. But stretching out from her back were wings… made of metal. The craftsmanship was good, each feather carved out and everything arranged neatly, but many plates were damaged, cracked or bent. Despite the fact that the cyborg did try to keep clean by polishing her wings regularly and maybe even run a comb through her hair once in a while, she still looked very, very sad.

"Who are you?" Frank demanded.

The cyborg shrank back. "I'm Ella," she said timidly.

Once again, Hazel was the best out of all of them.

"Hello, Ella." Hazel said. "How are you?"

Ella didn't exactly answer the question. "You're looking for Phineas."

"Yes," Hazel said. "We need him to answer a question."

"He'll give you an impossible task," Ella warned.

"We know," Percy interrupted, shrugging. "Geez, Beyonce's unreleased album? Good luck with that!"

"But Ella can help you," Ella said.

"Help us?" Hazel sounded surprised, which was normal, but there was a little bit of wariness in her tone as well. Especially after their first Phineas encounter, free help sounded pretty dang suspicious. "Is there a price?"

"A little one," Ella said, shrinking in onto herself. "Ella is hungry."

"So you want food," Frank summarized. "Whew, that's wonderful. Yeah, sure, we'll hop down to the nearest 7-11 after this…"

"No," Ella said. "Ella can only eat from Phineas's table. It's Ella's curse. Ella can't eat anything else."

Oh, so that explained the blood on the weed-whacker.

"Definitely!" Hazel said. "The second we get Phineas, we'll get you all the food you want."

"Promise?" Ella sounded hopeful.

"Promise," Hazel said.

"All right." Ella pulled two vials from her dress. Both of them were clear, like water, but something told Percy they were most definitely not that safe. "Phineas loves gambling. One is poison. One is water. Gamble with him for the answer."

"All right," Hazel took the vials. "Which is water?"

"Can't tell." Ella said sadly.

"Well, why not?" Percy demanded.

"Phineas can't see, but Phineas can smell. He can smell the knowledge off your skin." Ella said simply.

"That sounds creepy, but… yeah, you're right. You know him better than us. So all right, then. We gamble. We have a fifty percent chance of dying. And we get you food. That sounds great." Percy said weakly. He took a deep breath, making himself sound more determined, and began heading back towards the town. "Yeah, that's great. Thanks, Ella! We'll get you some stuff. Let's head off to our painful death! It's going to be awesome!"


	21. Food

**XX**

It was very awesome.

Although Percy's expectations might be considered a bit too low, because the simple fact that he was alive was considered awesome enough for him.

The day didn't start off very awesome, of course, because no one wants to wake up before six (unless you're some old person), but at the end of the day, what's important is that you're still alive.

Thus is the life of a Hunted.

However, even a 50% chance of living is a bit too low for the daily routine of a Hunted, because it meant that there was a 50% possibility that you were in a monster's tummy or screaming in the burning pits of hell at the end of the day. Most would prefer a lower percent death rate.

But then, if 50% was your best chance, you'd have no choice but to take it.

However, 50% was _not_ their best chance, so at first, Percy did not want to take it.

He did not know why he took it.

Hazel had been holding the two vials of joyful life and preferably-not death, but Percy took it to examine the contents, trying to find any – _any_ indication of one of them being a bottle of poison.

He found nothing, and when he tried handing the two vials back to Hazel, she refused. That was when he realized that they were already standing in front of Phineas's garbage/food-land with the man himself grinning at them with a mouth full of food-stained teeth.

"Come," Phineas said, beckoning with a chicken leg. Percy shuddered, but then too unexpected hands patted his shoulder, and pushed.

He stumbled, almost dropping the vials, glaring over his shoulder at a bashful Hazel and a pointedly whistling Frank, neither of them looking at him. _Traitors_.

"Just one?" Phineas bared his teeth at Percy as he sat in the chair opposite the man, trying to lean away from the slaughter field of perfectly fine food in front of him. "Your friends aren't coming with you?" Then, he shrugged. "That's only fair though. I'm one, you're one." He ripped into the drumstick, strips of meat catching between his teeth. The seer leaned forward, pieces of meat spraying from his mouth as he continued while chewing, "Well? Beyonce's next unreleased album?" He stuck out a greasy hand, blindly groping for the payment of his information. Percy tipped back in the chair, successfully avoiding the hand and most of the meat spray.

Wiping flecks off his face with his sleeve, resisting the urge to gag, Percy took a deep breath, (smelt the unattractive odor of lots of oily junk food mixed with an old, fat, unsanitary, dirty man, and quickly exhaled again, choking on his own breath) and said, "I have something even better."

"Oh?" Phineas's grin was very disturbing. Percy was never getting that out of his darkest nightmares. "Enlighten me."

"I have a gamble." Percy paused for dramatic effect, but a widening grin and impatient sweep of a half-devoured drumstick informed him of Phineas's excitement and acceptance of the new deal, prompting him to continue quickly. He clicked the two vials together, and two unseeing orbs shifted to the general direction. Percy had the sudden urge to shift the two vials far towards one side so it wouldn't like Phineas was staring straight at his chest. "Here, I have two vials. One is a deadly poison that guarantees instant death, while the other is plain tap water." He paused. "Okay, maybe not tap water. Drinkable water. From the store. Or something." He coughed. "Either way, one poison, one water. We drink at the same time. If you get the poison, we get the information. Savvy?"

"A man with half a brain would not accept this gamble," Phineas announced, and Percy's heart dropped. The old man tossed the clean bone to the side, his other hand already reaching out and seizing a box of fries. He grabbed a handful, stuffing them all into his mouth. He didn't bother swallowing when he continued, "What do I get if I get the vial of water other than having you die? There are two more of you to continue doing whatever it is you want to do."

"Okay." It made sense. "So what do you want? Just- not Beyonce's unreleased album," he added hastily. "Something not so impossible."

Phineas was visibly disappointed. "Fine." He huffed thoughtfully through another mouthful of French fries. "I want… the girl."

Percy was thoroughly confused, while Hazel choked somewhere behind him. "What- which girl?"

"The girl." Now Phineas was gesturing wildly, stubby arms spread wide (and giving Percy an unwanted view of his armpits) and flapping wildly. "The girl with wings." Percy's stomach lurched nastily as he eyed the bloody weed-whacker and remembered Ella's sad and frightened aura. "She steals my food, but is too quick – I can't catch her. She will be my prize."

Percy glanced back at his two companions, both of which were looking sick, and nodded. Hazel and Frank nodded back at him, and left to find Ella.

Although Phineas probably already knew, Percy told him, "My friends have gone to catch the girl: we will uphold our end of the deal. As for you, could you perhaps write the answer on a sheet of paper so that just in case you received the poison, we will be able to know it?"

The old man nodded, surprisingly compliant now that he's gotten what he wanted. "The location of Thanatos, eh?" He chuckled, grabbing what was probably a hamburger's wrapper paper, conjured a pen, and scribbled down a word. He folded the paper twice, still grinning. "I will uphold my end of the deal. I swear on my life that this is the accurate answer." That unnerving grin widened. "Although I'm already playing with my own life here, so I don't know how well you could rely on that."

"Well enough," Percy replied. There was a sudden squawk of fright, and he looked back to find Frank and Hazel escorting a quietly sobbing Ella, both of them busy trying to comfort her without Phineas knowing.

The old man laughed when he heard the sound. "You've gotten her!"

At the sound of his voice, Ella let loose another frightened cry.

"Yes, we've gotten her," Percy confirmed, feeling severely bad for the cyborg girl, "but you haven't. And you won't, unless you win."

Phineas grinned, revealing his uneven row of brown teeth. "If you think you're going to win, boy, you are wrong."

"We'll see about that." Percy clinked the vials together once more, and repeated in his announcer's voice, "Two bottles, one poison, one water. If you win, Ell- the cyborg is yours; if I win, we get our answer." Then reluctantly, he held out the choices and allowed, "Your pick."

The old man chuckled, feeling out with one greasy hand, rubbed his fingers over both of them before snatching one off from the tabletop. Percy took the other one, pinched between the tips of two fingers, and wiped off the oil with his shirt.

He took a deep breath. "You've had your pick; there is no return." He uncorked the vial.

Phineas imitated him, and grinned even wider. "Prepare to die, boy."

There was a silent quivering in the air, and invisible clock ticking down seconds. Percy's heartbeat was pounding against his ears, in sync with the seconds, and as if in slow motion, his hand was raising the vial to his lips, clear liquid sloshing inside and spilling a drop on his skin, sliding off the trembling surface and splattering into millions of tiny particles in the concrete ground.

They downed the contents of the bottles in one go, at the same time.

Immediately, a pained cry escaped from Percy's lips as he hunched over, a cramp building up in the center of his chest.

Ella shrieked in anguish, while Hazel screamed his name. Frank was pallid with fright. Phineas was grinning with satisfaction, teeth blocks of filthy yellowish brown, slivers of food caught between the bones.

And then he straightened up, mouth splitting wide into a grin to match the seer's. "Oops," Percy said, and right on cue, Phineas's grin crumbled and ripped open into a horrified scream laced with pain.

"My Sight!" he cried as a hole opened in his chest, and Percy watched with morbid fascination as dust and ash and sand trickled out as if he had simply been a stuffed doll that was disintegrating. "My Sight has lied! My Lady! How does _he_ equal of my value! You cannot kill me like this! You cannot-!"

His heart had long stopped, but his brain was on an overdrive, lips still uttering silent screams of lamentations even as his throat and voice disappeared. And then all that was left of the Seer of all was a pile of golden dust that blew away into nothingness, and silence.

Broken, devastating silence of death from murder.

Then Percy solemnly reached for the slip of wrapper paper fluttering on the tabletop, and read, "Alaska."

"Alaska," repeated Ella, looking fascinated. Then, her attention shifted to the food carts. "Ella can eat?"

Hazel smiled, golden eyes teary with the initial fright. "Go on."

And as utterly greasy and unhealthy the food were, no matter how much it reminded them of Phineas, the three questors and one cyborg feasted before they have to leave for their next destination: Alaska.


	22. Ice

**XXI**

They expected Alaska to be cold.

They didn't expect Alaska to be _this_ cold.

"D-D-Do people l-live here?" mumbled Hazel through chattering teeth.

"Apparently," Percy muttered back, his breath warm against his stiff, frozen fingers.

However, even the thought of civilization in this gods-forsaken place could not hearten them enough for them to leave the little shack they've taken refuge in located in the middle of nowhere, or even loosen up the group huddle they had formed in order to conserve some body heat.

"Ella made the right choice," mumbled Frank. "I would never willingly come to a place like this."

Just the thought of the little cyborg girl, feasting on junk food somewhere in Oregon, possibly heading to California like they told her to, possibly enjoying the warmth of the Californian sun…

It was enough to make anyone cry, especially when a particularly powerful gust of icy wind slammed against the side of the shack and made the walls creak and bend under its force, shaking them all from their reveries.

Hazel stirred. "You know… we can make a fire. It'd be warmer."

"It would," Percy agreed.

But Frank was reluctant. "I don't know… I mean, the entire shack is made of wood, right? What if everything burns up?"

There was a pause, before Hazel noticed the fireplace and pointed, relieved. "We can make a hearth with the bricks."

"But-," Frank stuttered a protest, "But how are we going to-?"

"It can't be that hard," Percy grumbled. "I'm freezing, you're freezing, we're all freezing. You can't argue with that, can you?"

The Asian boy's broad shoulders slumped, and he was visibly defeated. "Well… yeah, okay then."

Percy shrugged and got to work, starting to carry over bricks to the middle of the shack and placing them in a circular shape. However, Hazel remained rooted in spot, staring at Frank worriedly.

Frank looked incredibly nervous and uncomfortable, and it seemed like there was the sheen of a cold sweat that had suddenly broken out.

Percy returned from his second trip to the fireplace eight steps away, hands filled with bricks, and gave the others an annoyed look. "Aren't you going to help?"

But Frank's reply was more feeble protests, "What about the smoke? Can't- Can't we just go to somewhere more populated?"

"Sure," Percy deadpanned, then gestured outside with a brick, "when this snowstorm dies down, we'll go to Anchorage. We might have to walk a bit, but it'll be an easy trip _once the storm dies down_. So before that, let's try not to freeze to death."

"Why didn't you just get us directly to Anchorage?" Hazel wondered, genuinely curious.

Percy shrugged. "Ship parking fees and all that kind of stuff; and it's pretty suspicious, you know: our ship doesn't have _oars_ , let alone a motor, so it might seem a bit strange. We're supposed to find Thanatos, not let Thanatos find us."

"Thanatos is an inanimate object: it's a machine," Hazel reminded him.

"Yeah, but somebody must have gotten it here, right?" Percy pointed out.

Then silence that continued afterwards was uncomfortable and tense, and Percy went back to building a brick hearth, this time with Hazel helping him. Frank remained seated, legs pulled to his chest and ankles crossed with his chin resting on his knees. When he spoke, his jaw was pressed against the bone and his words became muffled. "Hey, can I tell you guys something?"

"Of course," Hazel told him gently.

"I…" he faltered. "I'm afraid of fire."

"It's okay." The dark-skinned girl offered him a reassuring smile. "Lots of people are."

"No, that's not-!" Frank groaned slightly, forcing a hand through his black hair, cut in a military cut. "I mean, well, a fire could kill me."

"A fire can kill anybody," Percy spoke up, his voice soft and confused.

Frank threw his hands up in exasperation, ankles uncrossing and kicking his legs out. "I-! Gods… I don't know how to do this." Then from a hidden pocket inside his coat, he extracted a wooden stick, around the length of his forearm, with one charred end. "This," he began to explain, brandishing the stick, "is my life."

Percy did not know what to say. "That… is… strangely romantic."

"No, I meant-," Frank took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut and exhaling through his nose. "I- I was born with this stick. And if it burns up, I die." Everything was said in a rush, and it took a moment for his companions to process the words.

"Oh." Percy sounded strangely disappointed. "So you mean…"

"I am _not_ in love with a stick," Frank decided to emphasize, because it seemed very important at the moment.

"That's- oh." Percy had a blank look on his face, like he wasn't sure how to react. Hazel, thankfully, was more sympathetic.

"Is that why you were so nervous?" she asked.

"Yes," he swallowed, glad that the initial hurtle was over. "It's pretty weird and stupid, ridiculous really, because well, I doubt the shack would just burn down it we light a fire in the hearth, but still…"

"I understand," Hazel said, and Percy gave him a tight nod before asking,

"But is it okay if we still light the fire? It's still pretty cold."

"Yes, yes, of course." Frank finally stood as well, looking visibly relieved. "I'll help you."

The hearth was built quickly, and then the problem of _how_ they were going to light a fire arose.

"I was so sure I brought matches," Percy grumbled, rummaging through his pack. "They ought to be in here _somewhere_."

But ultimately, despite turning the bag upside down and emptying it of all its contents, they did not find the matches, and when they've managed to stuff everything back inside, the snowstorm outside had already quieted and was beginning to die down.

"Well," the water-manipulator huffed, "That went well."

"It did," Hazel agreed, not noticing the sarcasm. Frank just smiled, a little relieved, and they went on their way – towards Anchorage.

 **το** **κυνήγι**

Anchorage was not a very populated city, but it was still a city, and it was a relief to be around human faces again. There shouldn't be as much monsters due to its isolation, but the Hunted remained tense, watching and searching for any sign of Tartarus, which allowed monsters to regenerate infinitively. It was a guess, but it was possible that its powers would be even stronger when it was so close in proximity, and that would make any monster encounters very problematic.

There were lots of glaciers.

And that was not random at all.

It really wasn't! Because of course, of course, they would find Thanatos on the biggest glacier Alaska had.

But not yet.

Because Anchorage was still the city where Thanatos was presumable hidden, and it wasn't a surprise when the trio of Hunted bumped into several monsters that were strolling down the street and gossiping without anyone noticing.

"-and hisss expressssion, did you sssee?"

"-ridiculousss, thessse mortalssss-"

Percy happened to be the one to almost get caught in the group of six dracacae.

"Sorry, ma'am; excuse- WHAO!"

It was not an easy chase, nor was it very discreet.

"Sssstop running…"

"Who would ever-?! Boat! Get on the boat!"

They stole a boat.

"Shoot them, Frank! Shoot them!"

They also conveniently remembered that Frank brought a bow and arrows, but since they were already in a boat, rowing away from the monsters and staring passerbies, they thought maybe saving a few arrows would be a good idea.

It turned out to be a very good idea.

"They can swim! Percy!"

They hightailed out of Anchorage.

"Frank! Shoot! Them!"

Frank shot one straight through the head, but the dracanae was unperturbed, simply pulling it out and swimming after her sisters.

"Thanatos! They can't die!"

Their stupid theory was right.

"Percy!"

"I know- I don't know where to go!"

That was when they heard laughter. And screaming.

A glacier had approached without them really noticing, its looming size casting a formidable shadow onto their little fishing boat. The screaming had come from Hazel. The laughter came from the glacier, where perched on the edge of a jutting cliff, was an army of… metal?

They glinted in the sun, smooth movements interrupted by sudden jerks, and there were the whirring sounds of machinery coming from within the hundreds of metal bodies.

Everyone, save for our three heroes, were laughing: the metal minions, the dracanae; but there was a sudden, booming laughter that filled the Hunted questors were dread.

At the head of the metal army stood a large man with a mane of red hair, cackling towards the sky.

Without the need of an introduction, the Hunted realized immediately who the man was, if you could even call someone so inhuman a man.

Thanatos was guarded by a Giant.

* * *

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